October
by Daimeryan Rei
Summary: They’re not from this world, and have lived through time, space and universe to fulfill their goals- the ones called Shadow Born, Thief King, and Pharaoh. With their own reasons and motives, what happens to the ones they inevitable drag into their lives?
1. Default Chapter

**October**

By Daimeryan Rei

Pairings: implied YnMarik YnBakura, YnMarik Ryou, YnYuugi (Atemu) YnBakura, established Jounouchi Mai, Yugi Anzu

Warnings: foul language, violence, shounen ai

Genre: AU, sci-fi

Summary: They're not from this world, and have lived through time, space and universe to fulfill their goals- the ones called Shadow Born, Thief King, and Pharaoh. With their own reasons and motives, what happens to the ones they inevitable drag into their lives?

Author's notes: use of the Japanese names (Anzu Téa, Jounouchi Joey, Otogi Duke Devlin, etc.). Everybody is around 18-20 of age, except YnMarik, YnBakura and YnYuugi. Gratuitous use of artistic license and a whole lot of made up crap. Feedback greatly appreciated.

Key:

- scene change

-

"We don't serve pipsqueaks under sixteen, kid." The bartender smiled a nearly toothless smile, globs of saliva accumulated at the corners of his mouth. He was one of those men whose fat couldn't be mistaken for muscle tissue; it bulged all the way over his light gray pants. Malik Ishtar had no doubt he could take the man on. One punch in his flabby gut should be enough to take him down. He clenched his fists. _Control your temper. Stay calm._

"I'm not a kid."

"Let me hear your ID."

"Fine." Malik put his index finger on the familiar square box and waited until the LVS, the laser verification system, finished scanning his print. A mechanical voice called out his identification number, stating his age with its very last tone: "Seventeen."

"You're lucky," the toothless man mumbled and turned around. "So, what will it be?"

"Green voran," Malik answered, holding back a "… and make it snappy" at the last moment. The bartender reached for the bottle and unscrewed the cap, pouring the drink with lazy, bored movements.

"You know your stuff, kid." He put the glass on the bar and jerked his head. "Doesn't he want something?"

"Huh?" Malik looked quickly in the direction the bartender was pointing- behind him. He refrained from gnashing his teeth when seeing the man, standing a few inches away.

"Weapons on display," Malik hissed at him, but the other didn't move. Irritated, Malik spun around to face the bartender.

"He doesn't drink."

The burly man shrugged, unfazed. In his years as bartender and owner of The Square Circle, he had seen a lot of weird people come and go, dark strangers and shabby travelers- tattooed, pierced, naked, leather-clad, or armed as this guy. Even so, his intuition had never screamed "danger" so loud before. He eyed the stranger behind the kid, dressed in black, and with weapons attached to his left leg- unidentified weapons. _Smuggler, thief, renegade? _His keen eye caught a sparkle; something was glittering- an earring in the man's right ear. The right side of his face as covered by the short, dark gray hooded cape he was wearing, tattered and ragged. Long, platinum blond strands of hair peaked under the hood, contrasting his dark tanned skin and bland, violet pupil-less eye, glaring directly at him. The bartender only noticed the strange black lines under his eye before quickly turning his head. He felt like he was exposed to his very core; that gaze hadn't been friendly. He swallowed.

"You said you were staying on the ship," Malik mumbled, nursing his drink. Green voran was as cheap as it was bitter; the aftertaste was hard to get rid of. It was, however, the only drink with a relatively low alcohol percentage and even though he wanted to, it wasn't in Malik's intention to get drunk.

"We have a problem."

Six years and he still wasn't used to his voice; it grated like nails on a school board, a knife on a plate, screeching tires from a getaway car. _Get away. _Yes, he wanted to get away- far, far, far away. Malik shivered. It didn't help that the other didn't talk that much- but if he talked, most of the times it held the promise of trouble. Like now.

"What is it?"

"There is One here."

This made Malik curious and he turned around, abandoning his drink on the bar. "One?"

No answer. He pondered. There were only two who qualified for being an "One".

"Which one?"

"I don't know."

"Well, that's a great help." Malik rubbed over his wrists, out of habit. It looked like he was rubbing over dark brown leather, common bracers- he hadn't forgotten to switch his _alterfactor_ on, a device that altered parts of his appearance, inconspicuous to the human eye. "So, what's next?"

"Get back to the ship."

"I want to finish my drink."

"As you wish." The man turned around and stalked out of the Square Circle, unconcerned. Malik frowned; there hadn't been a single tone of submission or politeness in his last words, something that didn't surprise him. After all these six years, he knew that the other couldn't care less about him. Malik had to be used to that now, something he casually scolded himself for. There was nothing he could do about it. Six years was a long time, especially after…

"Hello there, cutie."

He turned his head so fast he heard his neck almost crack. Next to him sat a very attractive woman, clad in a vinyl type leather skirt and jacket, combined with a lace top that left nothing to the imagination. Her long blond hair flowed freely over her shoulders, and she had paid careful attention to her make-up; long black lashes stressed her purplish eyes, while a fiery red colored her small lips.

"Hello there, too," Malik answered lamely. Almost obsessively, he put a hand on his drink. She saw the movement and smiled. "Want another one?"

Before he could answer, she waved at the bartender. "Green voran and a Daiquiri for me."

The bartender nodded and bustled about, his fat body wiggling behind the counter. Malik snorted.

"They still make those?"

"You have to know who makes the right one," she winked at him. "I don't like those synthetic drinks very much."

"Real ingredients are hard to get sometimes," Malik pointed out. The woman shrugged and put her purse on the counter. She rummaged in it and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and some tokens.

"Cigarette?"

"I don't smoke. Why are you offering me this?"

"I'm just looking for some company."

"Don't mess with me. This joint is far too crappy for small talk and picking up company. What do you want?"

"Busted," the woman smiled, without looking embarrassed. She squinted her eyes a little for the harsh bar lights -who, for some reason, didn't do any harm to her appearance, shifted the purse a little bit around and smiled again, albeit a bit wanly.

"I saw you arguing with your boyfriend…"

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Your co-pilot…"

"Pilot," Malik corrected her, patience wearing thin. "He's the pilot, I'm the co-pilot. If you're looking for a ride, you're doing it the wrong way, lady."

They were interrupted by the bartender, who put the drinks in front of them on the counter. "He's not giving you any trouble, Mai?"

"Not at all," the woman answered, flipping long locks of blonde hair over her shoulder. She looked again at Malik. "It's okay."

"What's this all about? You want a ride? We don't take people with us."

"Cargo ship?" Mai fumbled again in her purse, apparently looking for a lighter. She closed it and addressed Malik again. "You have a cargo ship, right?"

"Yes, so what if we have? Look lady, like I've said: if you're looking for a ride, you're asking the wrong one. I'm not the one who decides who or what goes on board. I'm sorry." Malik stood up, suddenly irritated. "Thank you for the drink."

"No problem. Too bad. I bet we could've had a lot of fun on your ship."

"It's not mine," Malik pouted, composed himself the next second and hurried out of the bar. He still had a lot to do and he had to get back to the ship, as per the pilot's orders. He gnashed his teeth again. One of the Ones had appeared and he didn't know which one. A good looking woman had approached him in a dirty bar, offering him drinks and cigarettes.

"Madness, just total madness," he muttered under his breath and reminded himself firmly to stay calm. His temper shouldn't get the best of him. Not like before.

* * *

Mai remained seated at the bar for another half an hour, casually calling off other men's attention and offers for drinks or something else. The bartender didn't give her any more attention, not that she wanted it; she waited patiently for thirty minutes to pass, then she stood up, leaving another fifty genz token on the counter and walked to the back.

Two out of the three videophones were out of order and Mai went to the last one, closing the cubicle behind her. She took out two black strips out of her purse and attached them to the door. Afterwards, she clicked a small device to the strips, immediately and effectively creating a small force field that would prevent any eavesdropping, or someone trying to open the door, forcefully or not.

Mai put her finger on the LVS, which stated promptly her identification number and age. She rolled her eyes and quickly tapped in the number of the one she wanted to be transferred to. It didn't take very long before an impeccably groomed woman appeared on the screen.

"Thank you for calling Kaiba Corp. Please select your choice from the menu." Mai winced at the loudness of the voice. Why had that stupid system be so freaking loud?

She navigated through the menu until she reached the Human Resources Department, Shizuka Kawaii to be exact.

The young woman smiled widely when she saw Mai on screen. "Mai! It's been a while!"

Mai flinched, knowing that that innocent remark forbade a scolding preach from her boss himself. That was the one and only reason she was happy she wasn't in the office in person. "Shizuka, I have a 755 call…"

"I'll transfer you," she said, an uncharacteristic frown disfiguring her pretty face. "Hold on."

Mai took in a deep breath and straightened her back. Maybe the boss wasn't in and she could talk to his brother, who was a lot easier to…

"Kaiba here. What is it, Mai?" _No such luck. _

She was a bit thrown off and almost took a step back when he barked: "You said it was a 755. Well? What do you have for me?"

"I… I have an almost positive identification on Malik Ishtar," she stammered.

"Almost positive? What's that supposed to mean?"

"The scrambler had difficulties with his alterfactor," Mai reported. "Someone has magnified the density of the thing." She was a little bit taken aback when she heard Kaiba clearly draw a sharp breath.

"No one alters an alterfactor without being fried. This is one clue, but you'll never know- there could be more people with a… never mind, continue."

"He wore bracers- those were altered, but my scrambler couldn't make out if they were made out of that gold you're looking for, boss." Kaiba didn't answer.

"They have a cargo ship…"

"They?"

"There were two of them. The second came in at least fifteen minutes after Ishtar, and said something about having a problem. When I talked to Ishtar, he said that one was the pilot of their ship."

"Did you get a good look at him?"

"No, but he was creepy as hell. Taller, bigger than Ishtar. He was carrying weapons on display."

"Weapons on display in that environment isn't that big of a deal, Mai."

Now she played her trump card. "It is when you're talking about unidentified weapons…"

"He still could be a smuggler."

"Unidentified weapons with laserpack feed and double clips," she said and waited for the quarter to drop. When she saw him stiffen, she knew she was on the right track. _Now she could finally get out of this dump._

"Interesting… very interesting." Kaiba folded his fingers together, contemplating his options. "Even if it isn't Ishtar and this is some smuggler or thief, it's still an interesting catch. Anyone who can alter his weapons to hold feed and clips is probably also capable of altering an alterfactor. They weren't related?"

"No. He was the pilot of their ship. That's all I could get out of him."

"Very well. Await your new orders, Mai."

The connection was cut before Mai could ask when her mission was finally over. With surprising force, she banged at the videophone, effectively rendering the third one out of commission.

"Damn you, fucking Kaiba!"

* * *

"Did you hear it?"

"Of course, brother."

Seto Kaiba hadn't changed his posture; he leaned with his elbows on his gigantic mahogany desk -the last mahogany known, covered with neatly arranged stacks of papers. The videophone was logged off. Only calls with a code of 750 and higher were transferred. He didn't have the time to answer the rest. His icy blue eyes were often described as 'piercing', a look only his younger brother Mokuba, was resistant to. In fact, the only time he looked soft and caring, was if it concerned Mokuba.

"Who are you giving this case to?"

"Hmm?" Seto was interrupted in his thoughts. "You mean, this one? Who do you suggest?"

"Me?" Mokuba frowned. "I don't know half of what's going on, Seto. Is this one of the cases you pursue yourself, or do you have a contractor?"

"We have someone walking around freely who's apparently genius enough to change the working of devices that are esteemed unchangeable," Seto said, ignoring his question. "And, also apparently, connected to someone who is a murderer and a thief."

"Malik Ishtar?" Mokuba pronounced the name syllable for syllable. "What's his bounty?"

"Five million genz."

Mokuba whistled. It took him only a second to frown. "Five million for a murderer? There must be something else he's done- there's no way a bounty for a mere murderer is this high."

"Sharp as always," Seto said, and showed one of his rare smiles. For his brother's sight only.

"Isn't it bedtime for you?"

"Seto, I'm not a kid. I still have to answer your question."

He nodded. "Go on."

"There are laser weapons involved, so first of all, I'd recommend Hiroto Honda. He's a weapon expert after all, and capable of dealing with all kinds of firearms, altered or not. Second, Mai said that the other guy gave her the creeps, and her intuition is normally always right. We're dealing here with a potentially dangerous man, so I'd suggest Ryuuji Otogi, expert at martial arts and a strategic genius."

"Excellent choices, so far. And…?"

"Katsuya Jounouchi as team leader."

"I'd hoped you would pick another one."

"Seto, you shouldn't be so mean to him. You know damn well how good he is and I don't know why you refuse to acknowledge him. He has more successful missions to his name than any other, and still you think he's average. Honda and Otogi are masters in their fields, but they don't keep an objective overview of the mission and they lack certain qualifications to deal with these kind of situations- and we're talking about a murderer and an unidentified dangerous person here."

"Okay, okay, I'll have the secretary notify them. Now you should really go to bed."

Mokuba nodded, jumping of the couch. "Don't stay up too late."

"I won't," Seto answered, and before Mokuba reached the door, he called him back. "Before I forget- what did I say to you about swear words?"

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine, I'm sorry. I won't say it again!"

"Very well, off to bed."

The door slammed close. Seto Kaiba untwined his fingers and pushed a button from his intercom. "Get me Jounouchi, Honda and Otogi here. Within fifteen minutes."

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

Bakura Ryou waited patiently in the admission line for the Expanding Galaxies Contemporary Museum, proudly sponsored by Kaiba Corporation. There was a large class of young schoolchildren in front of him; the supervising teacher was busy punching in the appropriate codes at the card register. His book bag weighed pretty heavy and he mentally urged the woman to hurry up. Even though he was patient, he didn't want to waste time- he had a vidbook report to finish, as well as a paper on "former Earth Politics and their influence on Current Interstellar Politics". _One of his better subjects_, he mused. _It wouldn't be hard to get a perfect 100 credits score on this one!_

For his seventeen years, Ryou had already meticulously outlined his future; he was going to study and graduate in Earth and Ancient History studies, and after his graduation- traveling. There were two options after the studies of his choice; become a teacher or a researcher, and fascinated as he was with the past and history of planets and Earth in particular, Ryou wanted to do research by traveling through the universe and galaxies- in search of clues and answers, completing and living history on his own. He considered teaching for a while - even though he had to apply for university yet, Ryou was already regarded and respected as a walking encyclopedia and source of knowledge on this subject- but decided against it in favor of traveling. No one was really interested in Earth studies- Earth didn't exist anymore, so why bother studying? Ryou was intrigued by the past and loved to dig around in libraries, searching for anything remotely ancient looking. It would be fascinating to find answers and discover new leads to reconstruct events from the past- there were so many holes left to patch in the history of the world.. and with the full support of his father, a history lover on his own, he could…

"You're next, young man," a woman said behind him, fairly amused. Ryou jerked out of his thoughts, smiled apologetically and quickly pressed the LVS for identification, then swiped his school card.

The glass door slid open invitingly and he stepped in; immediately overwhelmed by the visual attack of large vidscreens, announcing exhibits and presentations. There was so much to choose from; museum personnel were demonstrating objects and models of past cultures, or passing out flyers to call attentions to certain exhibits in particular. The large class of school children went to a "Technology through the Ages" demonstration- snickering, Ryou walked forward to one of the vidscreens, embedded in a pillar, and touched it.

"It's still here," he thought, relieved, when he saw the 3D announcement of the Ancient Egypt exhibit. It was his favorite; he would stop by later, after he'd done his homework. He took the stairs the old-fashioned way, not overly fond of the pressure-driven elevators and zip lifts. He knew exactly where to go; his father had taken him to the museum since he was five. Not to his surprise, there were hardly any people, let alone someone of his fellow students, in this section.

Ryou merely shrugged- Earth studies weren't compulsory, but it was good for some extra credits, and it would look good on his University application. He'd already read the most common works on former Earth Politics when he was thirteen and only had to verify some facts. After that, he was free to go to the Ancient Egypt exhibit; he could crank out the vidbook report within an hour. He walked past the long row of spotless clean, glass cases, displaying transparent discs one after another, neatly arranged to subject. He looked at the small imprinted description of the discs and smiled when he saw the one he was looking for.

"Open case," he said and the door slid open, soundlessly. With his index finger, Ryou touched the disc and a vidscreen popped up, displaying the contents of the book thanks to the holographic technology.

"Search for Europe, 2005."

"All content for Europe, 2005, displayed." The automatic voice was too soft to disturb other visitors, yet audible enough to hear at this distance. Ryou looked at the presented information on the screen.

"Narrow search to monarchies," he ordered.

"All monarchies in Europe, 2005, displayed."

Ryou took out his personal manager applicator, a handheld, powerful mini-computer that was the size of a cell phone, and disposed over a wide array of applications. He pulled up another vidscreen and quickly browsed through the information until he found his report. Checking with the information on the library vidscreen, he quickly added Belgium as another monarchy to his notes by merely giving a vocal command. Pen and paper went out of use ages ago- Ryou had both utensils at home, a birthday gift from his father. He used it to write letters to a certain someone, even though she wasn't able to receive any of them. There wasn't a mail delivery company anyway; current technological enabled everything to be electronically sent.

After verifying a few other details, he left the Earth section and quickly crossed over to the other side of the large Museum. Ryou entered the Ancient Civilizations hall and smiled when he saw the familiar statues and artifacts. He'd always went by the Ancient Egypt exhibit, though he didn't know why- just another quirk he'd adopted of his father.

It surprised him to see quite some visitors; normally it was very quiet around here. Shrugging, he went to his favorite piece of the exhibit - the three ceremonial tablets. Every time he looked at it, he discovered something new, especially the one that hung in the middle. _Two great men, a Pharaoh and a Priest, facing each other with great power.. they were preparing for a battle, but what battle.. and what had their counterparts to do with it, two beings that had been identified as 'duel monsters', a game played when Earth still existed and... _

A small kid came to stand next to him, face frowned.

"What's a Faa-raa-ow?" He asked, interrupting Ryou's train of thought. He looked down at the kid, and smiled.

"It's someone with great power from ancient times. He ruled over a very important country, Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians stood at the base of a lot of knowledge that we even use nowadays- mathematics, physics.."

"History is old and stupid," the kid whined. Ryou cringed. He didn't dignify that remark with a response, so he focused his attention to the ceremonial tablet again. He knew the information the museum offered about this tablet by heart; and was convinced there was still so much more to tell, to discover… the Priest, for instance. Ryou had always thought the person identified as the Priest bore a great resemblance to Seto Kaiba- the young CEO of Kaiba Corporation, the sponsor of this museum, and with great interest in a large number of other businesses. Only a few public images of Kaiba were available, and the resemblance was stunning, according to Ryou- he was, however, smart enough to keep it to himself.

"Who was that Faa-row?" The kid asked.

"It's 'Pharaoh', " Ryou corrected him, pronouncing the old title with some exaggeration. "And to answer your question.. no one knows. His name has been lost throughout history.. do you realize these tablets were already displayed when Earth still existed? Even then, they didn't know his name.. it was said that the Pharaoh still roamed the Earth, in search for his name, because when he found his name, he could save the Earth and protect his people."

The kid scowled. "Boring."

"Can you imagine that you don't know your own name? The Ancient Egyptians were very carefully in naming their Pharaoh, because they saw the Pharaoh as God incarnated. To have your name removed, is one of the most severe disgraces to a Pharaoh- whether he must've been very cruel so people wanted to remove any memory of him, or he did it on purpose.."

Ryou saw the kid wandering away, bored again, and shrugged. He glanced at the tablet one last time, the resemblance with Kaiba still striking him, no matter how many times he'd seen it. He went into the next room, and saw the little kid standing in front of the prominent display in the middle of the room.

"Holographic images of the God Cards." Ryou had to bend a little through the knees to be at eye level with the three cards. They were on display thanks to Kaiba Corporation's stunning holographic technology, and it was hard to believe they were only fragmented lights and pixels, instead of real cards. In the middle were _The Sun of God Dragon, Ra_, a golden phoenix and the most powerful of the three God Cards. On the left was a crimson red dragon with two mouths, _The Sky of God Dragon, Osiris_, leaving on the right_ The Tormentor, Obelisk_, a blue giant, unmatched in brute force.

"Those things destroyed the Earth? I was hoping it was a bomb or such." The kid snorted.

Ryou scowled, having enough of the kid's degrading attitude. "These three Gods were a part of the game Duel Monsters, as it was played on Earth, and were only to be wielded by the Pharaoh. They are such powerful monsters that they were - and are - more than capable of wiping out an entire planet. Not a piece of land, but an entire planet. What exists today, is due to foreseeing visions of people who were smart and adequate enough to rescue whatever could be rescued and leave the world as they knew it."

The boy looked now with a bit more respect at the cards. "You really mean that.. _cards_ destroyed the Earth?"

Ryou shook his head. "No, not cards. Osiris, Obelisk and Ra destroyed the Earth. What exactly happened, has been lost as well. Some people think it's because of the malfunctioning, underdeveloped holographic technology at that time. You see, the technology we know today didn't exist back then. There could be a possibility that, when released, the Gods had free play, not to be restricted in any way or form by the bad technology at that time…"

"And what do other people think?"

"That the cards weren't wielded by the Pharaoh and they.. got out of hand," Ryou said, gauging the kid's reaction. "Or the Pharaoh did wield them, but hadn't found his name yet.. the Gods won't listen to a nameless Pharaoh. As I've said, it's not really clear what happened. Survivors of the disaster didn't want to believe a card game had destroyed the Earth and tried to forget about it- or find a, plausible logic answer… where they are still looking for."

"A bomb still was way cooler," the kid answered, but looked far less bored at the cards.

"There are rumors that the original cards still exist," Ryou said while tapping slightly on the glass.

"Really?"

"Nobody knows if that's true, of course- and if it was true, who are the owners, or where the cards are in the first place. The card game they derive from, Duel Monsters, is illegal anyway."

"Illegal? Cool!"

"There's nothing cool about illegal," Ryou scolded, "you can get fined or even imprisoned when you are caught playing the game. It's.."

The kid cocked his head and sighed, giving Ryou an apologetic look. "Mom's calling me, we're going. Hey, you work here or something?"

"No, I don't," Ryou answered him, but before he could tell the boy more, the kid waved at him and with a "Gotta go!", he disappeared to the other room, catching up with a woman Ryou had seen before- she was the one that had stood behind him in the admission line.

He couldn't suppress a smile. Working at the museum.. that option hadn't dawned him before, but he dismissed it as soon as he thought about it. He was going to follow his father's footsteps, becoming a history researcher, a traveler, always on the road to find out more about ancient times, digging around, exploring. Ryou heaved a sigh. He already knew that his subject of study would be the ceremonial tablets - he just knew that the available information on those was just too little. _No matter how many people will make a fool out of me, I will inform Kaiba once of his resemblance to an ancient Priest. With a bit of luck, he knows something about reincarnation, maybe even stands open to it… _He cursed himself when he realized he left his book bag in the Earth section. Walking back, he could only snicker at himself what great researcher he would make if he'd already forgot something as simple as a book bag, especially with the weight of the thing.

* * *

"Jounouchi Katsuya, Honda Hiroto, and Otogi Ryuuji are here to see you, mister Kaiba," the secretary announced sternly through the intercom. Kaiba pushed the door button. "Enter."

Immediately, the two large doors swung open and three men marched into the room, faces determined and composed. They didn't exchange greetings nor didn't offer any form of conversation, seeing as chitchat was wasted on Kaiba anyway. The CEO didn't appreciate mindless babble and expected his men to do the same- this was business, not pleasure. They were waiting for him to begin. Kaiba stood up from his chair, left his desk and walked to the table in the middle of the room, white trench coat flaring behind him, and activated the holographic projector. Immediately, an image of a young man with messy, platinum blond hair and a dark tanned skin appeared.

"Malik Ishtar." Kaiba crossed his arms in front of his chest. The three men gathered around the table, studying the image attentively. "Wanted for murder. Bounty: five million genz."

The man with emerald green eyes and raven black hair in a ponytail let out a low whistle. He knew Kaiba took only jobs and contracts for bounties over two million, as he was the only one capable of fulfilling those contracts; but five million was a whole different matter, and - even for bounty standards- very high for a murderer.

"Five million?"

"You heard me, Otogi. Ishtar has an alterfactor, which is apparently upgraded or altered. Mai wasn't able to get a 100 positive identification on him, but we have more than enough reason to believe it is him."

"So he was last seen on Wremmoor," the blonde out of the three said, voice sounding neutral. His light brown eyes flicked to his boss, for only a short amount of time. Kaiba suppressed a grin. He knew Jounouchi was still pretty ticked that his girlfriend had been shipped off to such a distant planet- but the blonde knew how to separate business from personal matters, and also not to go against his boss' orders.

Kaiba ignored his question. "There's an unidentified male with him, reported to be taller than Isthar and carrying weapons on display."

"What kind of weapons?" The last of the three immediately asked. He had dark brown eyes, almost as dark brown as his strangely groomed hair; short, commando cut, with a spiky forelock.

"You'll have a field day with this one, Honda- laser pack feed and double clips."

"On the same weapon?"

"On the same weapon."

Honda whistled. "Field day, indeed; I want to have a chat with this one."

Kaiba cleared his throat. "Listen up. This case requires special precautions, different from other cases. No harm has to come over Malik Ishtar."

If they found it a strange precaution, none of the three commented. Every bounty was different, every contractor was different. Working for Kaiba in this way virtually left them nothing to wonder about. Kaiba continued.

"I don't care about the second one. The contractor mentioned Ishtar only. He could be aware of his bounty and hired the other as bodyguard or something. If he attacks you, you have my full permission to retaliate. Lift him of his weapons and see if you can get any information out of him; concerning this case, he's not important. If he doesn't let out any information, he can be killed. Find out what his connection is to Ishtar- if he's some kind of renegade, no one will cry about his loss. Remember what I've said."

Jounouchi nodded. "You said that Mai wasn't able to get a 100 positive identification on him. What if it isn't Ishtar she's seen?"

"If it isn't him, we can dispose of him later. I'm very curious about his upgraded alterfactor. We're catching either a big fish or a big smuggler here. Check the ICDR for the other- there may be a bounty on him if he's carrying weapons on display. On Mai's description alone, I couldn't find a match." Kaiba switched off the holographic projector. He had allowed them enough time to study the image.

"Information on Ishtar and his last location are uploaded to your PMA's. Leave for Wremmoor as soon as possible. The contractor made it very clear that no harm is to come over Ishtar, understand? The other one is expendable."

"Okay gentlemen, pack your things. Honda, I want you to stock up on laser packs, recharge units, EMETS, the whole works," Jounouchi addressed him. Honda nodded briskly. "Otogi, you make sure you check ICDR for information on Ishtar and his friend, and you will find every shred of information about him. Notify the docks that the Time Wizard must be ready for launch in three hours."

Otogi nodded as well, and turned around to follow Honda out of the room, recognizing a dismissal when he heard one. Kaiba snorted.

"If that isn't the stupidest name for a ship I've ever heard.."

Jounouchi addressed Kaiba, ignoring his remark. "Any time Mai can leave that dump?"

"Not unless she's really identified Ishtar. She was not sure. As soon as you've verified that it's really Ishtar and you bring him back, she may leave there."

"Not too soon," Jounouchi murmured. "Who's capable of changing an alterfactor anyway?"

Kaiba shrugged. "Don't break your head over it, Jounouchi. It's difficult enough for you as it is." He walked back to his impressive desk, with only a small stack of papers on it. Jounouchi knew that it wasn't any indication of Kaiba's workload, just as this room wasn't Kaiba's 'official' office. He knew from personal experience how Kaiba's real office looked like- you were only called there if you really, really screwed up and then you weren't really sure you would leave that office alive. Jounouchi had only been there once and lived to tell the tale, only to be reminded of it every time. For the rest of his life, Kaiba wouldn't see him as the competent leader he was, even now he had more successful missions to his name than anyone else.

Kaiba sat down behind his desk. "Something the matter, Jounouchi? Are you waiting for something?"

"No," Jounouchi answered. "Any time path? Restrictions?"

"The contractor was very adamant that no harm should come over Ishtar. I trust you to at least respect that part."

"What is the catch here? Five million genz for a murderer who must be kept from any harm?"

"That is up to the contractor. I'd order you to pamper and bottle-feed him if need be; five million genz is a very high bounty for a murderer. I agree with you that there must be some catch, and I think it has to do with the second person, close to Ishtar. Mai mentioned that Ishtar called him the pilot. Maybe he's more than that, maybe not. Investigate it and remember my words."

Jounouchi knew better than to further question his boss and nodded. "Very well." He waited for half a minute for Kaiba to add more, but the CEO ignored him. Finally, the blonde turned around, leaving the office and closing the doors behind him. _Jerk!_

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

The Square Circle was a bar like any other on Wremmoor- ugly, cheap, dirty, and with the good 'fortune' to be the first bar in sight when entering or leaving the spaceport area; providing the very first opportunity to get a drink after arrival. Usually it was pretty packed, but at this hour, it were only traders, officials, pilots and hookers occupying the chairs and tables. Most of them were about to return to their ship our their house for the night- passengers in transit, hitchhiking on spaceships, traders, women for sale, people with a LVS number and some money to their name, living to see yet another day. _This was not the right hour…not yet. Patience... patience. _Within only a few hours, the 'others' would come out of the woodwork: the hardcore drunks, the ones doing business that couldn't stand the light of day, the ones without a name and without a future. Those would be his target... not the businessman with his fancy suit, but the ragged toothless drifter- the businessman would be living on hollow credit anyway, while the drifter would have bundled up his possessions, taking it wherever he went... an easy prey for a thief.

His long black trench coat reached his ankles, flaring behind him, blending in with the shadows cast by the large buildings. He slipped his hand into the pocket of his dark gray pants, pulling out a small, flat device with a tiny screen; with a flick of his thumb, the holoscrambler was on. It allowed him to scramble every alterfactor, or any other appearance changing device present in a range of fifty meters, virtually showing him the true nature of people- showing him if his designated target was worth spending time on or not. A good thief didn't waste his time... even though he had lots to spare, he never did have the feeling that he had enough time for everything he had to do. In all his years, he had dismantled steel and iron traps, encountered and parried knives, swords and katanas, and met a wide array of guns, including this new world's laser packed ones- all in his search for the ultimate theft, the... a small red dot started to flicker on the holoscrambler. The thief looked at the small screen, recognizing the displayed data instantly, and his eyes went wide. Gold! Old fashioned, plain gold! Someone was wearing gold, and pretty much of it- and had an alterfactor that was extremely hard to scramble to boot. _Long time no see, precious gold! And you're very, very close... _

The thief looked up when he saw someone leaving the Square Circle, looking pretty miffed. A tanned, blond haired kid stalked out of the bar, stuffing his hands in his pockets and muttering under his breath. _Probably wouldn't serve him booze, _he grinned. The holoscrambler indicated the kid as the bearer of the gold; curious, he quickly checked him over. _Thick leather jacket, bracers, cargo pants_. He vaguely reminded the thief of someone, and he narrowed his dark eyes before finally making his move. The someone he was reminded of wouldn't hesitate in his place either. He didn't survive by handing out mercy and compassion. He quickly checked if his black bandana was still covering up his unusual white hair, except for a few spiked locks peeking out from under it; something he didn't care about and added more to his own outlaw look- he was a thief, and the best one of them all.

He followed the kid, who was heading towards the spaceport, still muttering under his breath, apparently talking to himself. His trained eye told him where he could be hiding possible weapons, his instincts working at top speed. According to the holoscrambler, the gold was worn on the arms and neck, excluding the large earrings- the kid had probably such a strong alterfactor to hide how valuable his bracers were. The fashion of how the gold was worn reminded the thief of someone else again.. of an One... that couldn't be.. he shook his head. Memories were only ballast and not becoming of a thief. Melting with the shadows, using the darkness to his advantage as usual, he tailed him, the strange familiar looking kid with lots of gold, unaware of his surroundings.

Malik sauntered over the street, still feeling miffed, anger brewing inside. _Temper __temper Malik Ishtar, keep it in check. Keep your anger under control. _He couldn't help getting mad- it was like something or someone set him off constantly. Malik couldn't recall a situation wherein he was perfectly relaxed or feeling at ease- ever since he had left home six.. or was it already seven.. years ago, leaving everything behind to protect his family, his sister and his adoptive brother, he had thought he was doing the right thing. This.. One certainly had changed his life, and not exactly for the better. Malik loved to travel, but not to wander, and not to be left in the dark, as darkness was something this One preferred- not talking, not divulging, only darkness. Sighing, he zipped up his jacket and went back to the spaceport. He had his own cabin at the ship, the _October_. Strange name for a spaceship- when he asked about the name, he was told that it had been the name of a month in an Earth year. It had surprised Malik- nobody used the Earth calendar anymore, let alone name his ship after it. _I should be used to surprises and strange things by now and still I don't know half of what I'm getting myself into-_ his head was suddenly jerked backwards, strong, spider like fingers tangling in his blonde hair, and the unmistakable pressure of a knife, pushed against his back.

"Give up the gold. Now."

Malik hissed in pain, the voice sending chills down his spine, and his hands automatically went up to claw at the fingers tangled in his hair. "What the fuck? What are you talking about? What gold?"

"Don't play fucking stupid with me," the thief hissed. "Tsk tsk, don't get any ideas. Do you want to live or not?" _Fear, oh beautiful fear._

"What… do you want from me?" Malik tried to remain calm, but panic was slowly overtaking him. He shuffled nervously with his feet, hands still up in the air, his head tilted backwards. "I don't have any fucking gold..."

"Shut the fuck up. The gold. Take it off, piece by piece and drop it on the floor. Any second you hesitate is a second closer to your death."

Malik couldn't help snorting. "Yeah, right…"

"Take it off, now!" The thief raised his voice, increasing his painful grip, knife slicing through the jacket and grazing the skin on his back. Malik groaned, and his right hand went to his left wrist to take off his first bracer.

The next second, it was the thief who groaned- a painful blow to his wrist made him drop the knife, and he released his grip on Malik's hair due to an equally painful blow to his arm. He was lifted up from the ground, and the thief choked and gasped for air, clawing with his fingers at the tanned hand that held him up in a forceful grip, almost crushing his windpipe. "Motherfucker..! Son of a.." To his own aggravation, he couldn't focus- he had never been surprised before; he was a thief, the one that used the shadows to his advantage, to remain unknown and undetected.. his attacker wore bracers as well and he lost grip. Black spots were dancing in front of his eyes, lungs screaming for air. In a last ditch effort, he thief tried to kick his attacker- he only got a low, amused chuckle in return. _Familiar… _

"Give it up, Bakura_…_" the thief heard his name being hissed with a deep, dark malevolence, and he knew that voice, from somewhere, someplace… and all went black.

* * *

He smiled and waved at the last customers leaving the Game Store, and hurried to put the lock on the door. It was past closing time and he didn't want to risk a fine for being open later than the allowed hours. If only customers would be as nice as to keep that into account as well- the last browsers had been terribly slow. He was already lucky that he lived in the same building as the game shop; no need to commute.

"Yuugi?"

"Yes, grandpa?"

"Can you go to the convenience store for me?"

"Sure, grandpa! What is it you need?" Yuugi's eyes went automatically to the clock- he would've to hurry if he was to make the run before the curfew. He was actually pretty tired and rather stayed at home, have dinner and get some chores done before going to bed. He stifled a yawn. Grandfather Mutou wasn't the one to blame here for not being able to keep up with the fast advancing and changing technology, and the installment of rules and the curfew; the older man just didn't seem to grasp the concept of it. Yuugi shook his head. He didn't understand it either, but nobody around here asked questions, just obeyed the rules. Things would go downhill if you didn't obey the rules. He hopped from one foot to another, waiting for his grandfather to return with a small shopping list; if he'd really hurry, he could call Anzu before going to bed. At the thought of his fiancée, he smiled- every tedious, hard day of work was completely forgotten as soon once he heard her voice.

"It's nothing much, Yuugi," his grandfather pressed a piece of paper in his hand. "I would've done it myself, but…" His voice trailed off.

"It's all right, grandpa, I'll go get it," Yuugi answered, checking over the list. Again, he had written "batteries" on it. "Grandpa, there are no such things as "batteries"… do you want a proton cell pack or an energy support disk?"

"Ehmm.. I think one of the latter," grandfather Mutou said, head averted in embarrassment. "It's only been a few decades that I still had to put new batteries in the appliances.. this world has so much changed ever since.."

"I've got to go grandpa, I'll be back soon!" It wasn't that he didn't want to hear his grandfather talking about 'whatever it was since a few decades', he really had to go or the store would be closed and he would be trespassing the curfew. Yuugi quickly put on his coat, checked his pockets for his LVS number, his PMA and his card. He left the Game Store through the front door, jingling the doorbell.

Yuugi quickly made his way over to the hover bus stop. It was his only way of transportation; it was swift and cheap, and he had to pinch every credit; the Game Shop didn't provide that much of a large income. Besides a handful of 'old school' gamers, nobody played board games; the shop drifted on profits on gaming consoles and the rentals of video and holo games. Most of the software was ripped and illegally traded anyway- something Yuugi and his grandfather couldn't compete against with their modest shop. The hover bus arrived, running on autopilot again- there was nobody insane enough to drive a bus in this area. Yuugi pushed his card into the slot and he was admitted, the doors sliding open. He sat down next to a darkened window; above the window was the electronic board indicating which stop the bus was at.

The yellow tube light reflected his image; a young man, though looking very much like a teenager, with pretty weird spiked hair in black and magenta colors, framed with golden bangs. Yuugi didn't care much for his appearance, nor was hardly teased with it.. more people looked a bit.. freakish in this neighborhood, hard core gamers or not. Relaxing in his seat, Yuugi merely mused about today; lots of browsers, but not sellers. It had been a while since the Game Shop had been 'checked'; an irregularly visit of a team of four men, on selling of Duel Monsters. That card game was forbidden for some reason, even though Yuugi knew illegal parties were held and that cards changed from owner to owner for very high prices. He had sometimes considered dealing in Duel Monsters cards himself, to get the Game Shop out of its deplorable sales.. but the risks were too high. He had never seen or heard about someone being arrested for trade in the forbidden cards return… and everybody knew about the three ultimate cards of the game, the God Cards- who apparently were responsible for destroying the Earth.

_A complete planet destroyed by a game_- Yuugi couldn't believe it. He left the hover bus at the right stop, fumbling around his pockets for the shopping list his grandfather had given him.

He was about to walk into the convenience store, shopping list in hand, when he noticed someone standing next to the automatic doors, almost completely covered by the shadows of the large building – a strange thing in itself, as the store always was surrounded in ugly, bright yellow tube light. Yuugi's attention was immediately focused on the visible spiked hair of the stranger, resembling his own; and something shiny, glittering.

Yuugi showed a weak smile, not entirely sure if the stranger saw him, and he went into the store- he had to be home before the curfew, and he didn't want to risk a fine when gaping at some stranger. Besides, his mother had him warned for strangers and that he was too trustful from his early years on… Yuugi did his shopping, finding every article available, paying for his purchases without any problem and when he left the store, he felt something tugging, though nobody was near him.. Looking to the left, his eyes immediately went to stare at the stranger.

"C-can I help you?"

He stepped out of the shadows- no, he _detached _himself from the shadows. Yuugi's mouth fell open. The stranger looked exactly like him- he could pass easily for an elder brother, with only the minor of differences – a darker skin tone, a slight advantage in height, a few more golden bangs and the eyes. Where Yuugi's eyes were purplish, large and round, this man's eyes were narrow, harsher, and a remarkable crimson red.

"I-is there something I can do for you?" Yuugi clutched the bag with his purchases close to his chest, as if he wanted to pull up a wall, a shield between him and the stranger. The man was a perfect mirror image of himself and he didn't feel all that uncomfortable, while he should be screaming and scared.. somehow, there was something very strong coming from this man- a strong sense of protection, possessiveness, determination.

"What's your name?" Yuugi asked, voice steady, to his relief.

"Name?" Even his voice was almost the same- but lower, way lower.

"Yes, your name," Yugi repeated, eyeing the man who had taken another step towards him.

"Name." The stranger nodded, bringing up his hand and fondled under his tight leather shirt with numerous buckles, and held something in front of Yuugi, dangling for his eyes.

It was a silver nametag with an inscription.

"I'm sorry... what?" Yuugi looked bewildered at the nametag.

"My name."

"I can't read that.. it's some bird.. and a funny eye.."

"My name." The man repeated.

"Why can't you say it? I can't read it," Yuugi said, backing away just a little.

"Read my name." The stranger repeated, insistent, taking a step forward. Yuugi's eyes darted from the left to the right- would someone come to help him if he screamed? Where were people anyway? It almost looked like the convenient store was drowned out from his surroundings, a fog like substance covering it. Was his vision blurred or was he just seeing things? His comfortable feeling from just a moment ago hadn't diminished, but wasn't very strong either. He cleared his throat.

"I know- my grandpa can read it."

"Grandpa?"

"Yes.. he's an elderly man.. he knows a lot about ancient history, he has done Earth Studies," Yuugi answered, smiling. "I've seen those bird and eyes drawings in one of his books! He can certainly help you."

"Show me that grandpa of yours." It wasn't a question, but not completely a command- Yuugi wasn't sure if he nodded because he wanted to help this stranger, or that the regal and confident attitude of the man made him wanting to help him… he threw a look over his shoulder.

"The hover bus stop is that way. Do you have a card to pay for the ride?"

"I do."

"Let's go, then."

The doorbell of the Game Shop chimed, announcing Yuugi's return.

"Grandpa! I'm home!"

"In the kitchen!" The elderly man hollered back, turning the stove off. He didn't like the nowadays food as it was prepared; nothing beat a dish cooked the old fashion way. "I made some.."

Solomon Mutou had turned around to greet his grandson, only to see an exact double standing next to him; slightly taller, and with a look in his eyes that told him not to ask any questions.

"You.. you brought a guest…?" He said, sounding weakly. "Yuugi, you should've called…"

"Grandpa, can you read this?" Yuugi answered, giving his grandfather a "don't-worry-we'll-talk-about-it-later"-look, and tapping on a silver nametag his look-alike was wearing.

"Yuugi…" Solomon had hardly denied his grandson anything, supporting him in every decision he made, giving advice whenever he needed it.. and his heart turned cold with the knowledge that for some reason, Yuugi wouldn't listen to him whatsoever concerning this.. his double.

Putting the oven mittens down, Solomon approached the stranger, who wore an amused look on his face- he felt his fear.

"How did you get.." The elderly man didn't even finish his sentence. Silver was a rare metal, and the inscriptions were even rarer, but decipherable.. he squinted his eyes, as for the first time in decades he saw ancient, ancient hieroglyphs again.

"It says "A-tem-u," Solomon said, after a few minutes of silence.

"At… Atemu," the stranger repeated. There was no smile on his face, nor a thank you on his lips.. only a smirk. He knew his name again.

"Atemu!" Yuugi tried the name out for himself. "Atemu, what were you doing there, at the store? Do you have someplace to go to?"

"I have just arrived here," Atemu answered, looking at Yuugi. "This is all very.. new to me."

"New? Where do you come from? Do you have a place to stay?"

"Yuugi, where are your manners? Atemu is your guest.. you should offer him a drink and something to eat, not bombard him with questions." _Though I really wish you would get rid of him.. something is not right and you seem to be.. smitten with him…_Solomon turned his attention back to the stove, hoping that Atemu would decline and leave.

"My apologies," Yuugi was quick to offer. "Would you like something to drink? And maybe you can have dinner with us, if that's okay with you, grandfather?"

"I would love to," Atemu answered, just before Solomon agreed as well. Yuugi was feeling excited- there was something that made him trust Atemu, no matter how much he was warned for strangers and no matter how coincidental their meeting had been.. it was like he had found a long lost friend, as if they had known each other for years!

Yuugi was about to comment when the door of the Game Shop opened. His eyes immediately brightened- it was only a few seconds for curfew, and there was only one other person holding the key to the shop.. it could be no one else but..

"Anzu! You almost hit curfew!"

The brunette girl smiled radiantly, immediately hugging her fiancé. "I was running so late! Madame Korishnova kept me for extra dance practice and.." She spotted the extra presence in the small kitchen within a few seconds, and her eyes went wide as well.

"Who's this, Yugi?"

"Anzu, meet Atemu- Atemu, this is Anzu, my fiancée," Yuugi introduced them. "Let's sit down and have dinner together!"

"Anzu, a pleasure meeting you," Atemu took her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a chaste kiss on her fingers. Anzu blushed faintly and suppressed a childish giggle.

"Eh.. it's a pleasure meeting you too, Atemu… I guess everybody here has told you already.. but you look exactly like Yuugi."

"Yes I do." Once again, he didn't leave anyone an opening to answer to; it was a statement, not a question or a simple remark. His eyes swept over the kitchen, to the set table with the dish. There wasn't really enough for all of them; two extra eaters were a lot for this household.

"Please enjoy your dinner," Atemu said. "I will be in the living room." He was out of the kitchen before anyone else could comment.

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

The engines of the _Time Wizard _roared, slowly building up to full capacity. Jounouchi Katsuya kept a close eye on the power meters, levels rising according to the output of the engines. To his own annoyance, he noticed his hands on the handles were slightly trembling. Kaiba always managed to piss him off, especially when it concerned Mai. Keeping her on that lowlife outback planet Wremmoor... _fucker_! He pushed a button a little harder than necessary, and another display lit up, showing that the pressure in the engines were rising- the ship was almost ready for takeoff. Wremmoor was one of the last planets where no government, military or police force had been installed despite several attempts, so it remained a haven for those who wanted to operate outside of the law, as there was hardly any law to be obeyed. For such a criminal paradise, home of rogues and renegades, it did have a strange ethical code, a sort of 'honour amongst thieves'- though anyone who disappeared on Wremmoor was likely to end up dead. Not even Kaiba Corp had influence on this particular planet, something that made Jounouchi snicker- so there was something left that Kaiba hadn't gotten his grubby little fingers on. Nonetheless, it was no place for ladies such as Mai. Jounouchi couldn't wait to see her in person again; maybe he could slip in some quality time. The thought brought a goofy grin on his face. Hopefully Mai had identified the right person, so she could get away from there. He forced himself to keep his hands straight. If only he didn't owe Kaiba so much, he would've said his goodbyes a long time ago.

A loud clatter behind him jerked Jounouchi out of his thoughts, and he craned his neck to look over his shoulder. Honda Hiroto was busy stocking the large supply crates with equipment- armour, guns and ammunition, along with locking and buckling everything down.

"Don't you think you brought a little too much?"

"Hey, you told me to bring the works. I don't think this is too much for someone who is able to alter his weapons to carry both clips and laser feed."

"You're quite impressed with that, aren't you?"

Honda snorted, bolting the last one of the crates. Suddenly, he straightened himself and closed the distance between them, rolling up his sleeve as he walked up the small platform. He turned his lower right arm towards Jounouchi, showing him a large, distinctive scar.

"I've seen that one before," Jounouchi all but yawned.

"I never told you where I got it from, now did I?" Honda snorted in response. "Think again."

It suddenly dawned on Jounouchi. For as long as he knew his friend, he knew about his fascination with weapons; not only their function, but also their mechanism and design. Honda wasn't a weapon expert for nothing; he had extensive knowledge on the subject, as well designed some of his own.

"You mean you got that from your own experimenting?"

"I've done extensive research on weapons, believe me. I was dismantling my toddler toy gun even before I learned how to pronounce the word 'weapon' properly. Both laser feed and clips are _impossible_ to combine in one weapon. Somehow this guy has rerouted every possible electro circuit in the system to make it work. I'm dying to learn how he did that, before we turn him over to Kaiba, of course."

"Nothing new on ICDR on Ishtar, and nothing on his possible buddy," Otogi announced, while hoisting himself up on the small platform that separated the pilot cabin from the cargo space of the ship. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt something personal." He grinned when he saw Honda and Jounouchi, the former with his sleeve up and his arm close to Jounouchi's face.

Honda pulled his sleeve down again, yanking at the fabric. "You didn't interrupt a thing."

Otogi knew better than to push it, as his kind of humour often fell wrong with Honda and he also knew better than to piss off his colleague when they were on a mission. Jounouchi knew that Otogi would use this as teasing future references and he quickly commented on Otogi's earlier announcement.

"If the Intergalaxy Criminal Database Records holds no information about him, he simply doesn't exist. Interesting- I thought everyone outside the law has been numbered and tagged by now."

"There's always a way to escape the system," Otogi merely shrugged, "if you know the right people, have a shitload of money and a whole lot of luck. Anyway, there was nothing new on the Ishtar kid, beside the information Kaiba gave us."

"Still strange that he's not to be harmed... and five million genz _is_ a shitload of money."

"Who did he kill? A celebrity?"

"According to his file, his father..."

"His bounty is five million genz because he killed his father? Man, they even get…"

"Knock it off, you two!" Jounouchi interrupted. "We've dealt with business like this before. It's not our job to doubt or to discuss the intentions involved. We're here to collect the perpetrator and the bounty for Kaiba."

"Thank you for reminding me," Honda scoffed, and took a seat next to Jounouchi. The _Time Wizard _was an extremely small ship, built for fast transportation and movement only. It wasn't really in need of a co-pilot, but the cabin was the only place for the three men to buckle down, as the rest of the space was occupied by their equipment.

"ICDR only showed that Ishtar has an older sister and an older brother by adoption," Otogi picked up on the conversation while strapping himself into the seat. "The physical description of the brother doesn't fit the one Mai gave us on the other person accompanying Ishtar."

"Ishtar probably is not capable of piloting a ship," Jounouchi thought out loud. "His records didn't show any education or skills in that area."

"So he hooks up with a smuggler who carries weapons on display?" Otogi asked, baffled.

Honda shrugged, patching in a plug into the console, tapping in a verification code to connect with the flight tower. "After so many years in the business, nothing really surprises me anymore. Tower, this is _Time Wizard... _"

"True," Otogi affirmed, finishing the last of his buckles. "People will do strange things, especially when they're on the run from bounty hunters." He glanced over his shoulder, seeing the metal crates bolted to the floor. "Isn't that a bit… exaggerating?"

Jounouchi grinned. "Honda thinks we're dealing with a weapon-altering psycho."

Otogi couldn't resist flipping some of his raven black hair over his shoulder. "We're dealing with a simple "pick up and retrieve" here. I don't see the problem."

"You most of the time don't… and with your incredible luck, you always manage to work your way around or out of a situation."

"That's me," Otogi smirked, but Honda cut his sentence short.

"We've been cleared. Ramp 34, southeast side."

"Right," Jounouchi answered and steered the handles forward. The _Time Wizard _rolled over the metal tracks, following the signs to ramp 34. Otogi closed his eyes and drove his fingers into the padding of the arm rests; no matter how many launches he experienced, the take off always left him a bit queasy and anxious.

"Countdown," Honda announced. "10… 9… "

"Systems ready. Engines at 70. Engaging thrusters. Open flaps." Jounouchi monitored the meters.

"8..7.."

"Flaps open. Thrusters at 40. Engines at 80. Navigation control system online; course Wremmoor, XFR590-110."

"6..5.."

"Thrusters at 60. Engaging auxiliary launch motor. Switching on tripacks. Engines at 90."

"4..3.."

"Course adjusted. Thrusters at 80. Engines at 100. Tripacks operating and functional. Auxiliary launch motor engaged and activated."

"2..1.."

"_Time Wizard _ready for take-off!"

"Launch!"

The engines roared, the thrusters flaring to full life, propelling the small ship into outer space. The _Time Wizard _left the ramp behind, flinging itself into the dark skies of the universe.

"Whoo-hoo! Another perfect take-off!" Jounouchi high-fived with Honda, their hands slapping together in the victorious gesture. Honda couldn't help but look behind him, seeing the only obvious weakness of his other colleague- Otogi was looking pale, fingers almost clawing at the padding of his seat.

"And that's why we never leave Otogi to do the launch," Honda mercilessly grinned. "How are we doing back there, dice boy?"

Otogi glared, not really appreciating Honda's reference to his love for dice games. "Shut up you ugly piece of shit, or you'll find the barrel of your beloved gun someplace where the sun doesn't shine!"

"Oooh, feisty," Honda commented, but backed off anyway. They were a team, a good, solid team, and even though they occasionally teased and joked, they all knew each others boundaries and limits. It wasn't for nothing that Kaiba almost always used their team to get the best results. In the course of the years, they had become friends –well, not with Kaiba, but he didn't care about friends anyway-, and good team players… an invaluable asset in this line of work.

Jounouchi leaned a bit forward, pulling a plastic bag from under his seat. Honda's eyes lit up- leave it to the team leader to think of something to eat!

"Here you are," Jounouchi shared generously. "A bit to snack before we reach Wremmoor! You want something too, Otogi?"

It was redundant to ask, as the latter was now looking positively green. "Who thinks of eating after a launch? What do you have for a stomach- a solid concrete cage or something?"

Honda waved his cereal bar close to Otogi's face. "Hey, don't get too sick, buddy! Our bathroom's for emergencies only."

"Three hours… just three hours…180 minutes…10800 seconds…10799…10798…"

* * *

Pain, numbing, throbbing pain. Sore, thick throat…headache…

"Uhn…." He blinked a few times, though his eyes had no problem adjusting to the dark surroundings. Something was thrumming, as if an insect was close to his ear and he brought his hand up, yelping in surprise when he smacked himself with cold metal, clamped around his wrist. Bakura's thief mind worked at top speed, pumping adrenaline through his body, taking stock in his predicament. Where was he? The thrumming sounds were unmistakably of engines. _Transport?__ Train, car, boat? No... too large. __Spaceship.__ I'm on a fucking spaceship. Not good. Fewer chances to escape._

What happened? He blinked again, noticing the heavy bracer on his right wrist. "What the fuck?" he screamed out loud. The metal was secured airtight around his wrist, sporting a small strip on top, displaying a tiny, flickering red light. _Electronics.__ Whoever has put this on me has control over me. Fuck! _

"Fuck!" Bakura exclaimed once again for good measure. His mind was racing back to what happened before he lost consciousness- before he ended up here. He had to determine what and who he was dealing with and fast. The last thing he remembered was him robbing that gold adorned kid…knife to his back...Bakura didn't even bother checking if he still had the knife. If someone was smart enough to put a wristlock on him, he would certainly have lifted his weapons. _Superhuman strength._ Something happened when he was robbing the kid; he was attacked from behind, the attacker had lifted him up with just one hand, feet dangling. _Speed._He was disarmed and lifted up at virtually the same second. Someone knew about his specialties and had taken adequate measures to keep him from using them. Too many similarities to ignore. _Not only speed, but using the Shadows as well…_

"Another Alternate, eh?" Bakura grinned in the darkness, a feral, predatory grin. He had a pretty good idea who he was dealing with. It didn't look as bad as he'd originally thought… but it was better to be careful anyway. He was already calculating his chances to escape, contemplating several options. Bakura leapt back into the farthest corner of the room when he heard a few, short sounds- someone was punching in a code. Barely a second later, a door slid open, and light flooded into the room. He squinted with his eyes, cursing mentally.

"I brought you something to freshen yourself up with."

A familiar voice…but not too familiar…a voice he heard not long ago…soft footsteps, his visitor wore slippers or sandals. Big mistake. Bakura blinked a few times more.

"I also brought you something for your throat…don't expect much of it, it's just some syrup."

Well well well, who was his mysterious visitor, a fucking goody two-shoes Samaritan? The thief's eyes were finally adjusted to the light and he opened his mouth, but almost gaped.

"What the fucking hell, Ishtar? You look almost civilized! What the hell happened?"

The young man in the door opening shook his head. "I think you've got the wrong one." It sounded bitter, yet with a hint of amusement.

"Quit playing games," Bakura hissed. _Could it be…he had found another way…Marik sure was insane enough to develop something like this…_"I don't take shit from you, Marik."

"Close, but not close enough."

The thief startled, immediately hating himself for showing any sign of surprise. He knew it- he had known it the second he had seen the electronics on his wristlock. Bakura slowly turned around to the source of the sound, hearing the voice he thought he would never hear again. That was Marik. The first Alternate to be created, and as mixed up and psychotic as they come. He knew he was in some deep trouble now.

"I see you were able to find your Other, then," Bakura croaked. His eyes were now sharp enough again to clearly distinct between the two. The younger one, the Other, stood in the door opening with a tray in his hands, and the kid from the alley he had tried to rob before. The pieces of the puzzle fell together; no wonder he'd looked so familiar. Right behind him stood the Alternate Bakura had known for so long; both exact copies of each other- dark tan, violet eyes, platinum blonde hair... only some differences in their hair and their eyes enabled others to tell them apart. Marik was slightly taller than his Other, and dressed differently; as usual –and expected- with weapons on display.

"What's your name, kid?" Bakura asked, wincing when his voice squeaked. Not from fear, but because his vocal cords has been severely abused by Marik's earlier treatment.

"Malik Ishtar," he simply answered. "Nice to meet you, Bakura, Thief King."

_Great.__ Just fucking great._

* * *

The living room was small and cosy, and so different from what he was used to. With the newly-deciphered nametag on his chest, the silver catching a glimmer of light and sparkling a little, Atemu's lips slowly formed a smile.

He had seen palaces, Throne Rooms, courts, mansions, shacks and tents. History would repeat itself, destiny would bring them together once again, and again and again until the string of events would be stopped. His tan fingers slowly slid over the silver nametag, touching the engraved scripture. History was already repeating itself... and he was grateful that he had found his Other so soon again. It wasn't really a surprise, though… they would naturally gravitate towards each other, no matter how much time would pass, no matter how many people would try to keep them apart. Atemu's attention was caught when he saw a few framed pictures, neatly arranged on a side table. He had to familiarize himself with the surroundings of his Other; the gods knew how soon they would have to leave; if any of the other Alternates had found their Others, or the God Cards…he picked up a frame, showing a picture of his Other…no, Yugi, with the girl who had just come in. It was a nice, warm picture, and radiated love and friendship. Strange that someone nowadays would still put down paper pictures in wooden frames…wasn't everything holographic, digitised or displayed in transparent static boxes? Maybe the elderly man held onto certain traditions... besides, it hadn't been too long ago that simple things as framed pictures were common. _Earth hasn't been gone that long. _At least, not long in the span of his life.

Atemu put the picture down, trailing the frame before picking up another one. This must be a very young Yugi with his parents. Yugi seemed a very happy, bubbly toddler, one hand fisted in the blouse of his cheerful mother, his other hand being held by his solemnly smiling father. This Other had probably lost his parents…on the day Earth was destroyed? How come the old man had survived, and not these young two? Questions for later, Atemu was sure to ask them. They would have plenty enough time and opportunity to talk.

Something caught his eye- but when he looked up, his mirror image only stared back. The small mirror above the side table had a golden frame, and mirrored Atemu's shoulder-length large earrings of the same material. His crimson eyes narrowed a little, dark long lashes forming a thick black line. _Atemu_… how could he ever forget his name? Why did destiny make him forget his name, time after time?

"Do you like the pictures?"

He almost dropped the one he was holding, totally unprepared for the sudden question directed at _him._ Turning his head around, he mustered his usual smirk. "I like them very much, ai..Yuugi."

Yuugi cocked his head a little; curious about what Atemu had wanted to say first. When he remained silent, Yuugi continued the conversation himself. "My grandfather wanted to keep those. He's not... very into modern things. I like them as well- it's the only thing I have of my parents left."

"You look nice in the picture," Atemu said, picking up on the slight sad undertone in Yuugi's voice. He pointed to the one of Yuugi and the girl.

"Anzu is my fiancée," he practically beamed. "We've been friends since High School! She studies dance –she wants to become a dancer, you see- and she's always been so nice to me... she's great! Anzu really cares about people, she's kind and she's always there for you..."

"She sure looked nice to me," Atemu confirmed, carefully gauging Yuugi's reactions. Everything was about to change very soon for this Other, and he would have to make some choices. Choices that would change his life forever, choices that would influence more than one world as well.

"As soon as she finishes her studies, we're getting married!" Yuugi smiled, a genuine, warm smile, his large violet eyes exuberantly radiating. Atemu smiled in return, much colder, and couldn't suppress a chuckle.

"That's nice."

Someone flipped on the light switch, and Atemu all but hissed. His eyes were used to the dark, and he blinked frantically.

"Sorry about that," the woman's voice almost sang to him, "but you both were standing in the dark, and that's bad for your eyes. It's past curfew, the lights are allowed on."

Anzu proceeded to turn on another light, close to the couch, illuminating the furniture with a warm, rich yellow colour. "Would you like some insta-coffee, Atemu?"

Seeing his confused look, Yuugi quickly explained. "Instant coffee... you have to get used to the taste. Real coffee beans are not…eh…easy to get." He'd wanted to say "not really affordable", but their financial situation was nothing of Atemu's business. He still wasn't sure himself why he felt so at ease around his look-alike, he hadn't invited anyone over to his home ever, and within a few minutes after they met, he had asked Atemu to come with him.

"Ah, a small cup then, thank you," Atemu answered. It wasn't really polite to decline, even though he knew how it would affect him later- his body didn't really need food and drink. Anzu was about to ask the same from Yuugi, but he was faster. "I'll make some, you go sit down and relax... you've had a hard day dancing and working! I bet grandfather wants some too. I'll be back shortly!"

With a last glance at Atemu, Yuugi left the small living room, calling out for his grandfather. Anzu picked up a few magazines, some batteries and a half-broken game-controller, putting everything into hard plastic box. "I swear he's just a kid sometimes," she smiled, "with his fascination for games. I guess we all have our hobbies… what's yours, Atemu?" She fixed her gaze on him.

"Travelling," he answered without hesitation. "I travel around."

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

"Lights," Bakura Ryou commanded curtly and the lights in his small apartment went on as per his command. He put the heavy book bag down and shed his coat, hanging it on the appropriate coat hanger. Everything was tidy and organized in his apartment, something he inherited from his father. The man had often made a distraught impression, jumpy even, as if he wanted to leave as soon as possible again. To 'combat' his distraction, he wanted everything in as much perfect order as possible; obsessively rearranging furniture, clothes, books and all his other belongings to create a system that only he could understand. Ryou didn't like his apartment being a mess, and had everything perfectly alphabetized and categorized. He had all but mapped out his life - being well prepared was half the work.

First, there was schoolwork to take care of. Ryou picked up his book bag again and emptied it on the large table in the middle of the living room. With a touch of his thumb, he booted his laptop and connected his personal manager applicator to it, downloading the data he collected at the museum. He planned to work on his paper on "former Earth Politics and their influence on Current Interstellar Politics" first. After that, he'd have more than enough time to study the ceremonial tablets. Ryou stifled a yawn. He padded into the kitchen, calling out for the lights to turn on. He fixed himself a sandwich and insta-coffee; a small lunch, but it was sufficient to him.

Five minutes later he finally sat down and started to write down the structure of monarchies and their political liaisons, outlining his paper to his satisfaction. He yawned again. Politics had always been the least of his interests, and writing about it sure didn't help. Ryou forced himself to write at least six pages, before he took a break from it. He had ignored his sandwich in favor of his concentration on the paper, and he took a firm bite. There was a program running on the background of his laptop, processing the data about the ceremonial tablets. As always, his attention was gearing towards it.

"Open new vidscreen," he commanded and enlarged the window with a mere touch of his fingers. He wanted to keep oversight and reclined into his chair when the large image was displayed. Not many people knew that he was able to decipher large parts of the inscriptions on the tablet. His father had taught him to read hieroglyphs, passing his love for Ancient Egypt onto him in particular. It wasn't a 100% accurate translation, but it was definitely a hundred times better than the current translation used by the Museum. Ryou understood the gist of it - the tale of the powerful Pharaoh who was challenged by his Priest, both using impressive magic. Unfortunately, the name of the winner wasn't surpassed on the tablet. The lower part had been broken off. It was a miracle in itself that these tablets had been salvaged.

Ryou tried to imagine what life was like during the last days of Earth. Not many were aware of the growing danger of the Duel Monsters game and the holographic technology involved. Technology that would be the downfall of the entire planet… or had it been the power of the Gods, called upon during the game? Somehow, a group of people had foreseen the imminent danger and managed to relocate to outer space, taking history with them. How would it be like, how would it feel like to make decisions about what should be saved for posterity, and what not? He'd never been evacuated in his entire life; one day he had to participate in a fire drill, but his fellow students had been joking and goofing off while 'running' for their lives. The school building was constructed from fire resistant materials anyway, another invention from Kaiba Corp..

As usual, the insta-coffee tasted horrible, like mucky dishwater. Before his disappearance, his father had brought home genuine Arabic beans, and since then Ryou had acquired a taste for real coffee. But his father wasn't here, and he wasn't even sure if the man was still alive. He couldn't recall the last time he had heard from him. It saddened him, and he didn't want to admit to himself that his wish to travel mostly stemmed from his longing to search for his father. He didn't have a ship, or a license to pilot one; he didn't have the money for it either. He received a very small allowance from a trust fund his father had set up once; Ryou didn't care for the details. After his mother… and his sister… had gone away, he couldn't care less about money or details. He'd rather have his family back than his allowance.

"Magnify," he said as he focused his attention to the Priest on the left side of the tablet. Something was carved in stone above him, some kind of…animal.. guardian angel? There was also something carved above the Pharaoh's head, but the picture was different; this one was human-like. The one hovering over the Priest was an animal. A lizard of some sorts, Ryou wasn't sure. He could magnify it to pixel level, but still he couldn't make heads or tails out of it. The tablet was far too complicated, belonging to a culture that had already been ancient and extinct when the Earth was still around. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose.

Maybe he was focusing too much on the Priest and the Pharaoh. Their names, or rather the cartouches with their names, weren't on the tablet - Ryou assumed they were carved into the part that had been broken off. The ceremonial tablet was in a good condition, considering how old it was - but it was incomplete, and that made proper interpretation so difficult.

The first thing he had done when he'd decided to study the tablet, was to go look for the Pharaoh's name. The closest he'd come, was to narrow his existence down to the 18th dynasty. Ryou drummed with his fingers on the table. He should be paying attention to his paper instead of his…hobby. He wasn't an university student yet, he simply couldn't afford to spend this much time on a subject that had nothing to do with his current studies. As soon as he was an Earth Studies major, he could write his thesis on his beloved subject, and spend as much time on it as he wanted.

With a flick of his fingers, the image scrolled up, showing the top of the ceremonial tablet. A smile tugged at his lips. Three images were carved in a specific position; simplified representations of the God Cards: on the left, the dragon called _The Sky of God Dragon, Osiris. _On the right, the giant _The Tormentor, Obelisk, _and in the middle, a little elevated above his fellow divine entities, _The Sun of God Dragon, Ra_, in all its glory. How would the Gods look like in color? It didn't escape Ryou that the Museum displayed the Gods in the same sequence; Osiris on the left, Obelisk on the right, Ra in the middle. Kaiba's superior holographic technology made it possible to display the cards, even if they were only pixels and refracted light beams; the real God Cards were, of course, lost to the public.

Ryou laced his slender fingers together. Maybe he _had _been focusing on the Priest and Pharaoh far too much. How exactly did Kaiba know how the God Cards looked like, in order to display them correctly? Kaiba Corp. was a gigantic business operation that had influence all over the universe, and had sunk its teeth into many branches. There wasn't a field or expertise where Kaiba Corp. wasn't represented in. They even produced milk, for crying out loud. The HeadQuarters were located on the planet Altana, which was mockingly called 'planet Kaiba', as the large office building, a tower of incredible height, dominated the entire landscape. Besides, only the HeadQuarters, its employees and their dwellings made up for the denizens of Altana; security was strict, and without a Kaiba Corp. employee pass, you simply didn't get to dock at the spaceport.

For all the power that came with the company, its CEO, Seto Kaiba himself, was notorious for being reclusive. All that was known of him could be summarized in a few lines. He had a younger brother who acted as Vice-President, called Mokuba. He enjoyed gaming (mostly playing chess) and reading. He worked over a hundred hours a week, had no social life, and never honored invitations for parties, balls or anything else where paparazzi could be and catch a glimpse of him. There were a few public pictures available of him, however - it took Ryou less than a second to lift them from the official KaibaCorp. homepage.

He always boggled at the thought that this man was only a year his senior and had accomplished so much. Head of a gigantic business with worldwide branches, with so much influence on each and every planet that it was… awe-inspiring and intimidating. Ryou shivered. No wonder Kaiba didn't have a social life, he barely had time for anything else but his work! He shivered again. He really needed to get back on his paper and not slack off. His fingers left the keyboard of his laptop, until he noticed the other picture of Kaiba. It was taken from the side, showing his profile.

If he'd had any insta-coffee in his mug left, he probably would've choked on it. The picture of Kaiba _en profil_ was just above his enlarged image of the ceremonial tablet, and he feverishly scrolled a little down, until he was at the part with the Priest and Pharaoh again.

"Why haven't I seen this before?" he stammered. The Priest and Kaiba had all but the same profile. Of course, the Priest was wearing a hat that covered his hair, but the eyes, the nose, the jaw… it wasn't as farfetched as he originally thought. He could run a program and discover how many facial similarities Kaiba shared with the Priest… his heart started to beat faster. It was perfectly clear to him now - Kaiba had something to do with the God Cards and was tied to Ancient Egypt. How else would he know what the God Cards looked like for his technology to breathe life into them, and why else would he look like that Priest on the tablet?

His eyes darted over the tablet, back to the Pharaoh. His enthusiasm increased, and he felt as if he was about to make another, very important discovery. If the Priest had a similar…person on this world, in this time, in this age, the Pharaoh would have to have one too! How wonderful would it be if he were to discover that person? Was this coincidence, or reincarnation at work? How was he ever supposed to find someone looking like the Pharaoh? Ryou forgot about his paper, and shoved it aside to pull the laptop more towards him, all but practically landing it onto his lap.

He had been focusing too much on what he had thought was important, but he had forgotten the teachings of his father. Details were important, and the most overlooked, insignificant things often turned out to be key or the final clue to the riddle. The position of the Gods on the tablet might be irrelevant, but they had given him the clue to think about how it was possible to know how the God Cards looked like, and it was KaibaCorp. who had installed the technology. It was KaibaCorp. who had put in all the necessary information to display those Cards, and to do that, they had to know what they looked like. There were no other images of the God Cards but the ones on display at the Museum. _Kaiba knew what they looked like. _Because he was the reincarnation of a Priest who had at least seen them in a duel with the Pharaoh? Because somehow he possessed a picture of the God Cards that was absolutely unknown to the public?

The Duel Monsters game had been a card game, played on a board with distinctive fields to place the cards. Ryou didn't know the rules as he had never played it himself - not to mention the game was illegal - but he knew that not many stores sold board games. There was nothing profitable in selling board games; the market was good for computer and console games only. He searched for stores, his fingers dancing across the keyboard, tapping and clicking at the keys. He couldn't recall the many times he'd been just staring at the tablet, staring and staring and wondering how to interprete the hieroglyphs, the carvings… but now that he had a lead, a new and exciting trail towards solving the mystery, his excitement took over. This was what his father must've felt when he was working on his many projects - the discovery of something new, something that could explain history, another piece of the puzzle that had been uncovered!

A list of gameshops appeared on his screen; a simple search and find command, and he eliminated all the stores that were known for selling computer and console games only, leaving him with a handfull of 'old fashioned' stores; the one still selling board games. Maybe they even sold illegal Duel Monsters card games. Ryou suddenly shot up and looked around him, as if someone had been peeking over his shoulder. It was only his imagination, and he chuckled at the absurdity of his thoughts. Then it hit home; even if he had found board games selling stores, that didn't mean he could visit them, waltz in and look for himself if there were people around knowing about Duel Monsters and hey, had they seen anyone looking like an ancient Pharaoh, perhaps?

It was hard to deal with the wave of disappointment. He had to study hard to be accepted at the university of his choice, and here he was, his mind running off with insane theories. He couldn't afford to visit these stores, he couldn't even afford calling them. He could send them electronic mail, but he was dependent on their goodwill to answer. Morosely, he stared at he list. If only… if he was an university student and majoring, he would get access to a research fund. It was a small amount of money, but he could use it for his research on the ceremonial tablet, and he could buy himself a ticket to… his finger tapped at the list… Vertregg 12 and visit a simple GameShop owned by a 'Mutou, S'. It was the closest to his home planet.

It had to wait for now, frustratingly as it was. Ryou shoved the laptop away from him, and sighed when he saw his paper lying in the corner of the table. Reluctantly, he reached for it. At least he had 'established' some kind of connection between Kaiba, the God Cards, and the Priest. That was sufficient enough for him to not let it go… not for a long time.

* * *

Wremmoor's spaceport was large, brightly lit and surprisingly clean; an ironic contrast with the general shady population who liked to keep their businesses secret and hidden from too-much-seeing eyes. The colorful billboards and loud, repetetive commercials on humongous vidscreens all tried to compel people into buying make up, cigarettes, energy drinks or the latest gossip magazine; to any naïve traveler, Wremmoor looked like a nice, dandy place to be. Jounouchi, Honda and Otogi knew better. They left the _Time Wizard _docked and safely secured, with Honda installing extra alarm systems on the fly. Unlike any other spaceport, no tags or numbers had to be registered on Wremmoor, which meant that in case of your spaceship being stolen, no insurance would cover it…and no police would be involved either. This was one of the few places no government or military force, not even Kaiba Corp., had any grip or influence on; it was a haven for thieves, smugglers, beggars and other criminals. Stolen was stolen, murder was murder - for no police or any authority in power, Wremmoor was pretty self-regulating without too much bloodshed, amazingly enough.

The only identifcation system was the general laser verification system, or LVS for short. It was nothing but a charade, the only effort to keep things above the radar. When asked around, this planet was a picture perfect of law-abiding people. Nothing less was true, of course. As soon as they left the spaceport, people were gauging them, eyes darting back and forth. Strong men, hired as muscle power to accompany people to their destination. Cheap whores looking to make some extra genz, or any other currency. Dirty scum, handy little fences who offered cheap knock-offs, or expensive brand products that had 'slipped through customs' for extremely low prices.

Jounouchi was used to deal with scum and thugs. The key was to radiate confidence; he walked straight, no shoulders slouched, and looked everyone intending to approach him straight in the eyes, so they started to shuffle around, almost embarrassed, muttering something under their breath. Anyone weak or insecure would be eaten alive on this planet. It was a good thing that The Square Circle was so close to the spaceport; Jounouchi didn't feel like descending into the abyss of human rejects who made their money preying on people or who plunked a knife between your ribs for just a few cents.

Honda and Otogi followed him, not only because he was the team leader, but also because he knew his way around here. Honda had been on Wremmoor before, but not Otogi; he refrained from looking as if this was his first visit here. He wasn't a newbie open to tricks and the bad side of interstellar trade, naïve and ready to believe that the gold watches he was shown were really offered this cheap because they were 'a little damaged', but he shook his head at seeing all the fences and shady dealers. Wremmoor really was one of a kind.

Pushing open the door to the bar, Jounouchi quickly looked around to see if he could spot Mai. She had made The Square Circle her 'base', simply because it was the first bar when leaving the spaceport and it caught most of the travelers. She had contacts all over the planet, using her good and very defined looks to get to know what she wanted to know. Nobody suspected that she was working for Kaiba and his intelligence service, just like Jounouchi and his crew; if so, she had to get away as soon as possible. Wremmoor didn't like tattletales.

He saw her sitting in the corner, her back turned to him. A _green voran_ was next to her; he knew Mai liked her drinks artificial and sweet. Jounouchi walked up to her and tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"Mai," he said. She looked up, her face slightly annoyed at the intrusion, hands on her PMA to avoid curious eyes. She immediately broke out in a warm smile when she saw him and she got up, immediately wrapping her arms around him, taking him into a bone-crushing hug while repeating his name over and over again.

"Jounouchi! Jounouchi! Nobody would tell me if you were on your way, and I…" She pressed her lips on his, and he enthusiastically returned the gestures, his hands unabashedly sliding lower along her backside. They were so lost in their kisses, that a sudden cough startled them.

"Honda, Otogi, so good to see you," Mai said when she peeked over Jounouchi's shoulder and saw the rest of the crew. Honda took away his hand he'd held in front of his mouth, whereas Otogi was simply grinning.

"Mai," Honda mock-bowed to her, "always a pleasure to see you."

"Mai," Otogi spoke with his most suave voice, "your presence makes this hellhole look like heaven." It was a good thing the burly man behind the bar didn't overhear him.

She flicked a long, blonde strand over her shoulder, smiling at the two of them. She knew how well this team worked together, for which she was thankful - in their line of work, you needed someone to watch your back, and preferably someone you knew and trusted well. The team of the _Time Wizard_ was known for its good results and its high ranking at Kaiba Corp..

Honda smirked and looked at Otogi. "Come my friend, we'll leave the lovebirds alone."

"We'll meet back here," Otogi nodded. They could use their time to gather more information on Ishtar and leave Jounouchi to have some private time with his girlfriend.

"All right," Jounouchi said, ignoring the large grins on his friends'faces. He knew the goal of their mission, and despite Mai being his girlfriend, he wouldn't lose track of that goal; but that didn't mean he couldn't spend an hour or so with her. The best thing, probably the single best thing, about working for KaibaCorp. was that management and Seto Kaiba himself didn't care how results were obtained, as long as there _were _results.

"Wait," Mai suddenly said as the others were about to turn around. Honda lifted his eyebrow.

She hesitated. "If you…" she lowered her voice, "if you're going to look for Ishtar, for which I take it you're here for… I don't think he's docked at the spaceport anymore, but should you meet him, somehow.. the other one, not Ishtar himself…" She shook her head.

They were aware of the 'other one' wearing weapons on display, something that even on Wremmoor was quite unheard of.

"We'll be careful," Honda said and Otogi made a V-sign with his fingers, showing once again a confident grin.

"He seriously scared the hell out of me," Mai said. "Be very, very careful."

Both men nodded and left the bar. Jounouchi looked at their retreating backs. He wasn't afraid that his crew would end up in danger; Honda and Otogi knew better, but he was sometimes afraid that Otogi would get himself the short end of the stick one of these days. He relied too much on his good looks, his quick wits and suave talk; he was a strategic genius, but not a weapon expert like Honda. On the other hand, Honda was quick to draw weapons instead of trying a diplomatic approach; maybe he should just go with them to make sure that…

…Mai's hand was on his cheek, turning his face towards her again, and he forgot about Honda and Otogi. She flicked out her tongue, running along her upper lip.

"We need to talk."

"Let's go up," she winked at him. The Square Circle rented rooms by the hour for travellers to rest up, or for couples to meet outside of the more… traditional environments, or for anyone who needed a room, from fifteen minutes or fifty days. Nobody asked, as long as you paid - and that was exactly what Mai needed.

They took the zip lift to the fourth floor and Mai went ahead, leading him to the end of the hallway. It reeked of piss and vomit, and Jounouchi could smell the scents of home-cooked drugs. This place was a goldmine if he would do a bust and arrest everyone. This was no place for Mai, yet she had accepted it without complaint. He owed her big time.

He stepped into the room, inhaling the wonderful scent of flowers. There weren't any bouquets on the rickety table; she had put a lot of air refreshers on the only shelf in the room. She closed the door behind him and pushed him to the middle of the room, where he bumped against the bed.

"How long do I have to stay here?" she asked. Her luscious lips moved in an angry fashion. "Really Jounouchi, I love seeing you here, and yes, I'm going to rip the clothes off of you in an instant, but first I want to know how long I have to stay here!"

Before he could say anything, she pushed at him so he fell onto the bed. Her pretty face was scrunched up in disapproval and resentment.

"I hate it here," she said. "The smell, the people…I never thought I missed Altana, but I'd give my arm to be back at my paper-pushing job again."

"You're not the kind of girl to work a 9 to 5 job, Mai," Jounouchi said.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked, eyes blazing. "That I'm too stupid to work a desk job?"

He lifted up his hands in defense. "You know I don't mean _that_, and you know it. I was already dating you when you were still working as a secretary, remember? And didn't we have our first fight because all you could do was whine and bitch about your dead-end job?"

"Don't even go there, Jounouchi, or you can leave..!"

"Not before you rip my clothes off," he said smugly. "Face it, Mai, you're born for adventure, and that's why I recommended you to work for Kaiba, not his HeadQuarters." He sounded a little downtrodden. "Though I wish I hadn't."

Mai crossed her arms in front of her chest, unconsciously stressing the volume and curves of her breasts. "I'm not blaming you," she said, "I jumped at the first opportunity to leave that awful office behind, to leave that awful army of secretary drones behind. It's not your fault. I should've thought about it better and longer."

She tilted her head. "You know, you never told me why exactly _you_ work for Kaiba."

Jounouchi didn't answer but put his hands behind his head, goofily grinning at her.

"I'm serious," she said as she leaned a little forward, her tight blouse stressing the outline of her chest even more. This was conscious, and despite her claim of being serious, her lips had curled into a devious, sexy smile.

"In this line of work, I can only tell you for sure that not a single day is the same, and that Kaiba decided where you go to and where not."

"Kaiba, Kaiba," she spat his name. "He can dish out the orders, but he doesn't have to take any! I thought my mission here was over when identifying that Ishtar creep. What does he think there's left for me to do here, except for turning away people who want to have 'a good time' with me?" She snorted.

"Is anyone harassing you?" Jounouchi said, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh please," Mai said. "Come on! A single, good looking woman in a bustier and a mini-skirt, in a bar like The Square Circle! Do I have to draw you a map?"

"What did Kaiba said as soon as you called in your report?" Jounouchi gritted.

"He told me to await my orders."

Either Kaiba expected Ishtar to be back at some time, or this was just him riling the both of them. Jounouchi was well aware of Kaiba's dislike for him, and the CEO knew that they were involved with each other. He grunted something incomprehensible; Ishtar and his weapon-carrying friend docked at Wremmoor for its lack of governmental control in the first place. Hopefully Otogi and Honda could find out if they were regular visitors. If Mai had to wait all the time for them…

"I'm sorry for the wait," he said. "I'm doing my best to get you out of here as soon as possible." He hadn't even told Mai of his sister; the Shizuka Kawaii she knew was just a girl from Human Resources to her. He could try to pull strings with Shizuka; Kaiba didn't know she was his sister either, and he wanted to keep it that way. He owed Kaiba something, but not his entire life or family. He would find a way to get things sorted out. His eyes focused back on Mai, who was slowly undoing the strings of her bustier.

"How about we don't talk about work for a while..?" She said.

* * *

Bakura stared at the two identical people in front of him. No, not identical. An Alternate and an Other, and they had found each other. It sounded so sappy and romantic, that he had to grin. There was nothing sappy or romantic about Marik, the Alternate, let alone Malik, the Other. Marik wasn't even supposed to exist, but yet there he was, exactly the same as Bakura had seen him the last time…which was so long ago that he barely could remember it.

"Age hasn't been kind to you, Ishtar," he said, even though he knew that age had no hold on the both of them - Bakura and Marik, that was. Malik was human, and subject to the natural law; he would age.

"Cut the crap, Bakura." Marik didn't sugarcoat words, as usual. The thief had missed the man's cruelty and bluntness. "What were you doing on Wremmoor?"

"It's what I do." He shrugged. "Thieving, rummaging around, going about my business, until I ran into you." His fingers started trailing up and down the wristlock. The thing was heavy and it was suppressing his powers. Not that he could call forth or use any of his beloved shadows; they wouldn't help much in the cold vastness of outer space.

"Did you find your Other?"

Malik looked confused, despite addressing Bakura earlier with his rightful title of Thief King. That meant he knew a little, but not everything. Bakura's grin turned wider. He was intelligent and had very quick wits. Marik was too much of a cruel force to pay attention to details or subtetlies. Bakura on the other hand, saw his advantage in every gesture or change in attitude, and Malik's confused look told him enough. Knowing Marik, he would've told his Other only the bare neccesities; there was his opportunity to get between those two. Manipulating had always been his forte.

"Someday I will." Bakura shrugged again. He shook his arm; he didn't like being constrained. Why the fuck Marik needed to be so handy with electronical things, he didn't know, but he the only one capable of inventing a device that would suppress his powers. It was infuriating.

"What about the other One?"

"I don't know where he is. Look, I'm not here to answer your questions," Bakura snapped.

"Fine. Rot in here as much as you like." Marik immediately turned around and grabbed Malik tightly at his upper arm, all but yanking him out of the little cell.

"Fuck you too, Isthar!" Bakura yelled, holding up his hands. "Get this fucking wristlock off of me or I'll snap your fucking neck!"

"You're welcome to try," Marik answered him deadpan, not in the least impressed. "You're on board the _October_ now, Bakura, and there's no way you can get out or off."

"You fucking piece of bastard shit asshole!" Bakura screamed. The door closed. The thief dropped to his knees, but not in desperation. He felt tired, and the heavy wristlock didn't help much. Muttering a few curses under his breath, he realized that Malik had left the tray in the corner and he crawled towards it. There was nothing on it that he could use; a large bowl filled with water, a washcloth, a bar of soap - Malik hadn't been joking when he had said that he'd brought him something to freshen up. The cup next to it held a liquid that he didn't recognize; it was 'something for his throat', as the kid had said. Marik had almost crushed his throat when holding him up high. If he had a mirror, he could check for bruises.

"Fucking asshole," Bakura repeated. He touched his neck for a brief moment and then padded his upper body, realizing he had been stripped of his black trench coat…with all the hidden pockets and his tools. Of course, Marik knew him. He knew him so well, that he had searched and emptied every pocket. Bakura checked himself and all the hidden places on his body, but to no avail. He started muttering, but he suddenly realized something.

The door had closed, but not _locked_. Curiously, he moved to the door and touched it - it opened. The thief wasn't as stupid as to think that Marik had forgotten to lock it. He knew that Bakura was powerless, thanks to the wristlock and bereft of his tools; besides, he was right, there was no way he could get out or off. The _October _didn't have the luxury of escape pods. A large cargo ship like this was actually required by law to have one, but since when was Marik abiding the law?

Heaving a sigh, Bakura decided to go to the right, guessing that the cockpit was on that side. He couldn't remember the last time he was aboard this ship, and he had forgotten about its layout. The heavy thrumming of the engines felt familiar, though. It had always been a mystery to him why Marik had built himself such a large, monstruous ship. Bakura prefered to travel light and fast - Marik couldn't care less about his ship being conspicuous, easy recognizable. But the man's reasoning was often insane, beyond comprehension, and Bakura had given up on trying to dig for any deeper meaning behind his words or actions. Maybe the only other One left would care to try…

The lights were on and Bakura had no difficulties finding his way. His guess had been right; he went past the living quarters, kitchen, laundry and washing room before reaching the cockpit. The door was wide open. No, Marik hadn't forgotten to lock the cell door; he was simply counting on Bakura to get out and come up to the cockpit. He gritted his teeth. He didn't like it when others had a headstart on him.

Without as much as a word, he stepped up to the small platform and plopped himself down in the chair next to Marik, who had his eyes fixed on the panel in front of him. Too much lights, meters and gauges, to Bakura's taste; he had no idea where half of all the buttons were for.

"What happened to the kid?" he asked, as he didn't see Malik around.

"I send him to bed," Marik answered gruffly.

Bakura laughed. "Really?"

"He didn't need to hear what we're about to discuss."

"When are you going to tell him?"

"He knows enough."

Bakura licked his lips. As usual, Marik was wearing weapons on display, and he wasn't disappointing him now either. The gun in the holster strapped to his left leg was all but inviting, no, begging him to be stolen.

"Don't you even think of it," Marik said. "I don't need to remind you what a bullet can do to the hull of the ship, and I'm not ready to be sucked into outer space just yet. And no, I'm not going to set a course to wherever you want to go."

"So, what is the current course?" Bakura asked. Marik didn't look at him, not even once.

"You'll see it when we get there."

"You're still one hell of a grouchy fuck."

"You haven't fucked me in a millennium."

"What, are you keeping score?"

"Just shut the fuck up, Bakura."

"If you have a course already, then you know where to find the other One."

"We have a problem," Marik said, ignoring Bakura's words.

"You have more than one.."

"Shut the fuck up, Bakura, or I'll put some high voltage on your wristlock."

He wasn't kidding. The thief straightened himself into the chair and admitted temporary defeat.

"Fine. What is it?"

"This Other has a price on his head," Marik said. "Five million genz."

Bakura whistled.

"His family is quite persistent, and I don't know whether to kill them or every bounty hunter that's after us."

"Have you run into some of them already?"

"Word is, that KaibaCorp. is on our ass," Marik said.

"KaibaCorp.? Isn't that a multi-gazillion corporation with branches on every known planet?"

"Apparently, they also have some kind of secret police that deals with renegades, and collect bounties on them. Of course, this is all officially denied. KaibaCorp. isn't to be associated with such dirty business," Marik half-grinned, "but believe me, there's enough dirt on the corporation if only someone was willing to talk."

"They wouldn't even tell you on Wremmoor, huh?" Bakura said.

"I need more information on this KaibaCorp. and their bounty hunters. I'll deal with them. In the meantime, wherever we go, we get in trouble, and that hampers our search for the other One."

"Maybe you should think about getting a haircut and a new style to dress up in," Bakura suggested. As always, Marik's pupil-less eyes were both bland and dangerous at the same time when he looked at him. Bakura didn't know how he did it; but there was such malice and hatred coming from those eyes that it even terrified him.

"You haven't even found your Other yet. You have no right to criticize me."

"Let's just help each other," Bakura said and winced mentally. He didn't work well with others, but if there was some profit to be made… "If you help me to find my Other, we can help you to find the last One, and maybe…"

"No," Marik said. "You're out on the first spaceport we encounter, Bakura, no matter what shitty spaceport it is."

"You can't do that!"

"Is either that or out the airlock with you," Marik said and showed a disturbingly happy grin. Bakura huffed.

"Fine. Say… what do you think of unlocking this thing, mmm?" He moved his arm with the wristlock again. "It's heavy as hell."

"No." Marik said. "There's a cot around here somewhere. Go get yourself some sleep."

"How kind of you," Bakura said. "How many times have I wished for you to rot in hell?"

"More than enough," Marik answered and stared at the panel again, unperturbed. "You would only miss me, Bakura. Go to bed."

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

"Traveling around?" Anzu kept her voice steady. Her hands shifted to the edge of the plastic box before closing the lid on it. Vertregg 12 wasn't really a planet to travel to, just for fun. It was one of the smallest, most boring and painfully strict, law-abiding planets in this part of the universe, not even providing accommodations for tourists, let alone interstellar travelers. Not even the renowned Kaiba Corp. had a branch here, simply because nothing happened on Vertregg 12.

Anzu turned around and moved the plastic box under the side table so nobody would trip over it. Her eyes darted over Atemu, noticing that he was still holding a framed picture. It was the one of Yuugi as a toddler, a picture of both his happy, loving parents holding him. She frowned, not liking how he went about and touched things that belonged to her fiancé.

"Tell me…how much has he suffered?"

She was taken aback by the question. Atemu looked sincerely at her, holding the picture so that she could see it. She knew the picture of course, and her eyes darted away from it.

"His grandfather is all the family he has left," she said, rather curtly. That was more than he needed to know, she figured. Atemu was a stranger, and she wasn't willing to accept him as easily as Yuugi had done. She felt protective towards him, adoring his kindness, but watching over him that nobody should abuse it. She didn't like the way Atemu had sprung up on Yuugi, and how eager Yuugi had been to take this stranger home, even offering him dinner. He knew how tight money and food were for him and his grandfather, yet he'd been all but prepared to share his meal with someone he barely knew. It was a tell-tale sign of Yuugi's good-natured and trusting character, and it was praiseworthy in a society as cold and impersonal like Vertregg 12's. Anzu however, wasn't that quick to trust. Atemu's strikingly similar looks were unsettling to her.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Atemu answered, unable to keep the flat tone out of his voice. He did feel genuinely sorry for his Other, but these clichéd words were all that he had to offer. He knew people liked to hear these words in similar situations; it was supposed to offer comfort. When he looked at Anzu, it… amused him to see distrust on Anzu's face. Apparently she didn't buy his sincerity, but she was too polite to say something about it. It didn't matter anyway. He knew about loss, he'd known so much loss that he couldn't help but sound unaffected and distant about it. After experiencing so much loss, the losses itself had lost all meaning to him. Atemu had lost his throne, his life, his own nation, his own people, and he lost his name over and over again.

With a gentle movement, he put the picture back to where it belonged, his eyes darting over the other ones. There were quite a few of Yuugi's grandfather in his younger years. Interesting, he had an affinity for archaeology. Atemu recognized the background in several pictures immediately. _Earth. _How long had it been? _You might be better prepared for your task than I expected, my Other. _

"Your fiancé mentioned something about dancing?" Atemu said, continuing the conversation as if nothing had happened.

"I study under Madame Korishnova," Anzu answered politely. She was hoping for a professional dancing career, and her teacher -strict and stern, yet fair- believed she had the talent to accomplish it. She had never shied from hard work and felt fully supported by Yuugi - but somehow she doubted Atemu was interested to hear about her schedule and regimen. She stared at him, her eyes slightly narrowing. There was something about Atemu that didn't add up quite well. He was attractive, certainly, but he lacked the warmth and kindness that made her fall in love with Yuugi. There was a distance about him that couldn't be measured, and it made her feel cold.

"You need a ship to be able to travel around," she finally said, keeping up the strained conversation.

"I have one."

"You have a ship?" She was impressed. "That's amazing." Anzu had never met someone who owned a ship before.

"Insta-coffee for everyone!" Yuugi interrupted them as he swept into the living room, carrying a tray with coffee cups. Atemu turned around to face Yuugi and with the sudden movement, his jacket crept a little up. Anzu noticed a flat, black device attached to his belt at his lower backside. She wasn't technical-savvy; it looked like some kind of sound device to her, but she didn't see any headphones. Maybe it was the latest version of a personal manager applicator that he liked to wear clipped to his belt, right there on his back, though as impractical as she thought it was? Her attention was distracted by Yuugi, who put the tray on the coffee table and served the hot beverages, beaming from one to the other.

"I'm sorry for not serving any cake," he pouted. "We don't have guests often and…"

"It is fine," Atemu said, not interested in cake. He made sure to show Yuugi a reassuring smile.

"I hope our guest doesn't mind telling something about himself?" Yuugi's grandfather sat down, stretching his short legs. "After all, we don't meet many people carrying the name Atemu on a _cartouche _around their necks."

A rather awkward silence fell. The elderly man pointed at the chair in front of him, inviting Atemu as if he was an old friend. "Sit down, sit down."

"Yuugi, can I talk to you for a minute?" Anzu asked as Atemu had no choice but to take the offered seat. Yuugi was eager to hear what Atemu was going to say, but he couldn't refuse his fiancée. He followed her out of the living room, into the hallway. Anzu took him gently by the elbow and waited until the voices of Atemu and Yuugi's grandfather were dimmed to a mere buzz.

"Yuugi, what were you thinking, bringing someone like him home?" she asked, without anger or disappointment in her voice.

"I don't know," Yuugi answered honestly. The last thing he wanted to happen was to see Anzu upset or unhappy. "I...I just felt immediately at ease with him, like I found a long lost friend. I think it's funny that he looks so much like me."

"I think it's creepy, and he scares me." Anzu shivered at the memory of Atemu's unnerving red eyes. "What do we know about him? Nothing! Yuugi, you know that there are bad people all around. Illegal traders, shady gamblers… they know you run a game store with your grandfather…"

"Anzu, everyone knows we don't deal in Duel Monsters cards. They know there's nothing illegal in our store."

"Yes, they do, but that doesn't keep them from trying. You know how careful you have to be with people and still you invite a stranger in!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable," Yuugi said, downtrodden. He opened his arms for a hug and Anzu was happy to answer the gesture. She hugged him close, inhaling his familiar scent. Only her boyfriend would smell of a dusty stockroom and card games, and somehow it was still sexy.

"It's okay, I shouldn't be so paranoid," she said and ruffled his hair. "I'm just afraid people are abusing your kindness, Yuugi. I don't like to see you hurt."

"Isn't the man supposed to protect the woman?" Yuugi retorted good-naturedly. She laughed softly and ruffled his hair again.

"Silly! Let's go back to the living room, all right?"

His eyes lit up. "Sure! I want to know what Atemu-san talks about!"

Anzu refused to comment on Yuugi's use of an honorific for Atemu's name, a tradition his grandfather taught him. It was a remainder of their culture, but many people stopped using it altogether, especially after Earth…ceased to exist. Cultures, customs and traditions had been abandoned, or already forgotten. Anzu didn't want to nag. With a little bit of hope, Yuugi's 'infatuation' with Atemu would blow over soon.

They re-entered the living room and Yuugi's grandfather looked up, nursing his cup of insta-coffee as he blew on the hot liquid.

"There you are," he said, enjoying the company. "Atemu was telling me about his travels. He has even been to Egypt."

"Wow, you've been to Egypt?" Yuugi's jaw went slack. Atemu didn't look much older than him, and Egypt had been gone before Yuugi was born. Anzu seemed to do the same math in her head, but she remained oddly silent. Atemu finished the insta-coffee and put the cup aside.

"It is getting late," he said. "I thank you for your hospitality."

"Are you leaving? So soon?" Yuugi was disappointed. He had been looking forward to talk to Atemu, and now he was leaving? "What about spending the night? Where do you sleep?"

"At my ship. It has a spare room."

"You have a ship?" Yuugi asked breathlessly.

"It is called the _Datura_," Atemu explained. "It is a very light vessel, only for personal use. It is a perfect ship for traveling."

"What a beautiful name! Can I see it sometime?"

"Of course you can," Atemu said as he rose from his chair. "You are welcome anytime."

"You shouldn't be out on the streets now, Atemu," Anzu said, quite curtly. "It's past curfew, and trespassers will be apprehended."

"No one will apprehend me," Atemu answered cryptically, adding a chuckle to his words. "They have tried, but they have never succeeded."

"Wait! Will… will I see you again?" Yuugi asked, almost exasperatedly. He failed to notice the surprised look on the faces of his grandfather and fiancée.

"Of course you will." Atemu smiled, but the warmth in it was only meant for Yuugi. He didn't care for anyone else. Now that he had found his Other, he wasn't going to let him go. _Ever again_. "Thank you once again for your hospitality."

"I'll show you out," Anzu said before Yuugi could offer. Atemu didn't seem too bothered and remained silent as she walked next to him, showing him the door.

"Goodbye," she said. He looked at her with an expression she couldn't fathom. The small light above the door of the Game Shop shone upon his face, stressing his red eyes. The light gave them a devilish gleam, combined with the dark shadows of the night framing his face.

"Goodbye, Anzu," he said and with a few steps, he had disappeared into the darkness. Anzu couldn't even hear his footsteps anymore. She closed the door firmly, and needed a minute to compose herself before walking back to the living room.

* * *

With a satisfied sigh, Mai turned around in the bed. The rumpled sheets barely covered her naked body and the fabric slid over her breasts as a tender lover's caress, revealing her flawless skin. Her long, perfectly manicured nails traipsed over the bed linens. The only advantage to being stationed at Wremmoor was the easy access to the best skin care products this galaxy had to offer. No cheap knock-offs, but the real deal for a low price - everyone and his mother was a smuggler around here. She didn't care in particular - if there was any advantage to be stationed here, she was going to milk it for every genz worth.

Jounouchi sat on the edge of the bed, strapping on his boots. His shirt was still in a heap on the floor, together with his belt.

"Why do you always have to leave so soon?" Mai pouted. She shifted around and wrapped her arms around his torso. He pushed back to enjoy the feel of her bare breasts against his skin.

"We have a job to do. We'll meet again soon."

"When you're done with this job, you'll ask Kaiba to get me off of this planet, right?"

Jounouchi tilted his head a little. He knew how much she wanted to leave this place. "You have specific orders to wait here in case Ishtar shows up again. I can't promise you that you can leave here soon."

Mai heaved a sigh, but relented. Kaiba's orders had been strict and precise. "I know. Guys like Ishtar search out planets like Wremmoor to not get caught."

"I have to go." Jounouchi reluctantly moved away from her to pick up his shirt and belt. "I'm meeting up with the guys at the bar."

"I'll take a shower and join you soon." She propped herself up, totally comfortable with her naked body. Jounouchi was very tempted to jump her, and it was with great restraint that he only kissed her, almost chastely. Mai used the opportunity to wrap her arms around him and pull him closer, as she wasn't satisfied with the superficial kiss. She ran her tongue over his lips, and he had to grin.

"You devil. I can't keep the boys waiting."

"Oh yes you can."

"I have to get dressed…"

"No you don't." Mai scratched his torso, long nails drawing over his skin. "I've been waiting very, very long for you." She bat her eyes at him, long dark lashes winking. "You should reward a good woman waiting for you."

Thirty minutes later, Jounouchi entered the bar. It was pretty much deserted; at this early afternoon hour hardly any drinkers or smugglers were patronizing the Square Circle. He spotted Otogi and Honda in the corner, both looking disappointed and exhausted.

"What do you've got so far?" Jounouchi walked up to his table, not bothering to properly greet them. Otogi grunted in return and flicked his ponytail over his shoulder. He'd been up all night and day to visit his contacts in search for information. People had proven to be tight-lipped about the _October_, its mysterious pilot with weapons on display and the kid with the price on his head. Otogi was using his PMA and had opened several vidscreens to scroll through the huge amounts of data. Besides the vidscreens, the table was littered with paper and all kinds of disks and tapes. It piqued Jounouchi's curiosity.

"It's frustrating, but I can't find them at all," Otogi said. "There are no records or tags of the _October_ arriving or departing anywhere, not even on paper!"

He finally looked at Jounouchi and started to grin. He didn't point out his boss' rather disheveled hair -more so than usual- and the smudges of lipstick in his neck. Jounouchi sat down, ignoring Otogi's snicker. "This is interesting, though. The _October_ is registered and tagged as a commercial freight ship."

Honda looked up. He'd been silently polishing his gun, a modified electromagnetic pulse amplifier. He had built it himself. "So? What's the big deal?"

"I haven't gotten to the interesting part yet," Otogi snarled. "Which is, that in all of the years the ship is around, it has never, ever, taken any cargo. There's no documentation whatsoever: no packing slips, no invoices, nothing."

"Huh," Honda said. "That's strange."

"There's more." Otogi shifted through the pile of papers and pulled out a few grainy pictures, blurry stills from a vidcam feed. "As you know, every spaceport is required to use vidfeeds and cameras for registration of incoming and outgoing vessels. I've searched on descriptions of the ship instead of tags and registration codes, and I came up with this."

"What is it?" Jounouchi leaned with his elbows on the table.

"According to all of this, a vessel matching the description of the _October_ has been docking since 1749 BEE," Otogi said.

"Hum… Otogi.. I didn't take Earth Studies and even _I_ know that in 1749, Before Earth Exploded, no space ships were around," Honda pointed out.

"Don't be stupid." Otogi almost spat at him. "What I'm trying to say is that some vessel, ship, boat, whatever you want to call it, with the name of _October _is around at least since 1749. As soon as space flight was possible," he continued, "it was tagged as a commercial freight ship. It's actually one of the earliest spaceships in existence!"

"What? No way! That would make it at least two hundred and sixty years old!"

"Hey, stop talking shit," Jounouchi interrupted. "What about ownership?"

"You know damn well that a spaceship is registered by code and tags, not by owner," Otogi rebutted. "Except for the brother and sister, Ishtar's name never pops up on the grid. However, the owner has been described a couple of times and caught on vidtape in recent years. It's always, no exception, the one with the spiky hair and weapons on display." Otogi shoved the pictures towards Jounouchi and Honda. Both picked them up and fell silent as they studied the pictures.

"Impossible," Jounouchi sighed. "He can't be over two hundred and sixty years old. The mandatory age for flying a spaceship is eighteen, sixteen at the very minimum…he can't be piloting a ship for near two centuries. Impossible!"

"He looks like mid-twenties, tops," Honda added.

"He needs to get provisions somewhere. He has to take in fuel, coolants, water, he has to make repairs. He can't fly around space for free."

"No receipts, no invoices, nothing. No electronic payments. No paper trail."

"Maybe he extorts people into giving him what he needs?"

"He must have extremely large battery packs and fuel tanks. Judging its size and freight capacity, the _October _wasn't build for speed. Still, everything runs out of juice at some point, sooner or later."

"Wremmoor must be his one-stop-shop, as Mai spotted him here," Jounouchi reminded his friends. "I don't have to tell you that Wremmoor is tag-free and registration-free."

"You just did."

Otogi glared at Honda. "I do have a few seconds of footage. We're damn lucky I've been able to retrieve it. It's a ghost ship."

"All right, show it," Jounouchi said. He waited until Otogi transferred the data from his PMA to the vidplayer, taking just a few seconds before the video started. Honda scraped with his chair over the floor to sit closer to the others. Using the tiny keyboard of his PMA, Otogi looked intensely at the screen to pinpoint the moment the _October _would show up.

"There! There it is."

"Freeze the frame. Is that all?"

"That's all. It pans along the hull some more, so you can get an impression of the size." Otogi moved the video frame for frame. It showed a fairly clear picture of the _October_. "This was logged at… Tazla," he pronounced the name of the planet as 'Taz-law', but nobody corrected him. It didn't really matter anyway. "No footage of the Ishtars unfortunately."

Honda whistled. "I really don't want to foot the fuel bill on that baby."

"What's with the enormous cargo capacity?" Jounouchi stared with wide eyes at the small screen. "Otogi, can you calculate how big it is?"

"Just a moment." Otogi started typing into his PMA. "To answer your first question… I guess Ishtar doesn't like to dock at different planets. He's probably using all his cargo capacity to take in giant stock of fuel and water, until he runs out. I can't think of something else. He has never transported cargo and if he did, I haven't been able to find any trace of it."

"At what other planets can they dock without being tagged?"

"Ibistapola and Kraten Six." Otogi heaved a sigh, as Honda should've known the answer. "Together with Wremmoor, they're the last tag-free planets in this universe. I don't get it. Isthar has to dock somewhere in-between, the distance between those planets is huge. Why isn't he popping up all over the grid?"

"Like you said, he probably uses his cargo capacity to take massive amounts of fuel. I guess his capacity of battery packs alone is enough to cross the galaxy at least once. I take it you have the system set up to alert us when he does get tagged?" Jounouchi lifted his hands up defensively at Otogi's annoyed face. "Hey, sorry I asked! All right, good work."

Honda crossed his arms in front of his chest. He was pretty pissed - his search for information had turned up nothing. He didn't like it; he knew the value of information and wanted to provide it. In this department, he had to acknowledge Otogi's superiority.

"How hard is it to find someone who wears weapons on display?" he complained nonetheless.

"You got nothing, huh?"

Honda harumpf-ed. "Everyone's tight-lipped as hell."

"This is Wremmoor," Jounouchi thought out loud, "if people won't or don't talk, not even for the right price, then something really fishy is going on."

"What do we do next, boss?"

"Divide and conquer," Jounouchi said.

"Back to the _Time Wizard_?"

"Hey wait!" Otogi tapped at his PMA, an incoming message beeping at him. "This might be interesting as well. One of my contacts tells me that when Ishtar boarded the ship, he was carrying someone. It didn't seem that the third person went aboard of free will."

"Kidnapping? This guy keeps adding and adding to his bad rep."

"Does your contact have any ID on the not-of-free-will guy? A name?" Jounouchi asked hopefully.

"No, just a description. Long white hair and a black trench coat."

"Long white hair and a black trench coat. How are we supposed to find a matching ID?"

"Hey, we found people with less information than this," Jounouchi pointed out. "Aren't we the best team KaibaCorp. has, or are we just a bunch of losers?"

"I'll search the reports on missing persons," Otogi volunteered.

"If Wremmoor had a police station, we could lift some of their records," Honda snorted.

"We are to focus on Malik Ishtar, not on his pilot or whoever he takes on board with him," Jounouchi said. "Malik's the one with the five million genz bounty on his head, not the others. Got it?"

"Got it," both Otogi and Honda nodded.

"Back to work," Jounouchi said. "I want everyone prepped and ready to leave in an hour."

* * *

Bakura left the cockpit of the _October, _still annoyed. The wristlock was heavy and hindered his movements, not to mention it was _hurting _him. The weight dragged him down and chafed his skin. It was bullying on Marik's part, pure and simple; he knew Bakura had no way of escaping the spaceship, but still he refused to unlock it. Marik liked seeing people in pain. _Fucker._ Bakura didn't want to go to bed. His body didn't need the rest yet. His free hand went to his lower backside, adjusting a flat, black device clipped to his belt.

As usual, the size of the _October _was impressive. The hallway was large enough to move around without touching the walls. The number of -mostly locked- doors astounded him; was Marik planning to host his own army on board? Bakura figured that a lot of rooms were destined to hold provisions or any other kind of supplies. All locks were electronic and without his tools, Bakura stood very little chance of forcing them open. If only Marik hadn't stripped him of his coat… maybe Malik knew where the garment was. The engines of the ship thrummed in an almost soothing rhythm. All the lights were on, and everything looked in perfect condition. Bakura had to admit it again; it was impressive, very impressive. Marik's ability to build a ship like this and pilot it as well was astounding. How typical that the most insane of them was also the most brilliant genius of them. That thought never failed to bring a smirk to Bakura's lips.

He didn't know where to find Malik, so he walked around in no particular direction. In the pantry of the ship was nothing much of interest, and the few unlocked rooms held basic furniture. He had no idea of how much time elapsed, and Bakura was about to quit and look for a bunk after all, when he noticed a bright light at the end of another corridor. Soundlessly, he made his way over to the door where the light was coming from, and he took a quick look inside.

Malik was lying on the bed, reading a book. The light came from a lamp attached to his bed, a harsh, bright bulb that made his natural tan look a sickly yellow. The kid had gone to bed as per Marik's orders, but that didn't mean he immediately had gone to sleep. Bakura stood in the door opening and leaned casually against the doorpost.

"He treats you like a little kid, right?" he asked.

"What's it to you?"

"Nothing. You seem okay."

Malik snorted. "Don't even bother. He told me everything about you."

"Everything?"

"He told me you're an asshole. I guess it's one of the few times he's actually right."

"Hey hey, we barely know each other. Don't judge a book by its cover and all that."

"You would've killed me."

Bakura frowned. "Kill you..?" It dawned on him what Malik was referring to. "Oh yeah, outside the bar," he said. "Sorry kid, but you shouldn't be wearing so much gold in public. If Marik told you everything about me, then you should know…"

"You're a thief and a stealer of souls." Malik closed his book. "That's how he called you."

Bakura couldn't help the grin appearing on his face. He liked his own reputation, and apparently Marik hadn't forgotten about it. Which was weird... Marik forgot easily.

"What's that about a price on your head?" Bakura changed the subject.

Malik drew his lips into a tight line. He carefully put the book into the container next to his bed and closed the lid firmly. Silently, he moved to sit up straight on the bed, smoothing out the thin, gray blanket. It looked like he didn't know where to begin, and when he finally spoke, his voice was curt.

"I killed my father."

"I see," Bakura said. He narrowed his eyes. It was nothing different, not different this time either. Malik was an Other and suffering for the actions of his Alternate. It had always been this way and it would always be this way. "Marik killed him, right?"

"What does it matter?" He all but shouted, and his fists clenched at the blanket. Bakura knew he had hit a nerve. "We are the same to my sister: a monster! She will hunt me down until the both of us are dead."

"Nice family." Bakura whistled. He didn't feel any pity for Malik. Pity was an emotion that he had abandoned quickly.

"It's not their fault," Malik continued, softly. "When Marik…was there, my father always yelled and my sister always screamed. They didn't know how to deal with him. I didn't know… I wanted to stop him, I wanted to call him back, but when everything was over, my father was dead and my brother was on the floor with blood all over his face."

_It had always been this way. _Briefly, Bakura wondered where his own Other was. He was bound to find him, sooner or later. It wasn't his job to tell Malik everything; Bakura grimaced. He liked to give out his information sparsely, to get the most advantage out of everything he knew.

"There's another One, right?" Malik asked. He had turned off his light and his voice floated through the darkness. "Or however you call yourselves."

Bakura nodded, even if Malik couldn't see it. "The Pharaoh is the only one left to be found."

"I thought so."

"Why?"

"Nothing much," Malik said brusquely and tugged at his blanket, covering himself.

"Don't worry," Bakura misinterpreted Malik's sudden brusqueness, "we'll either find him or he finds us. Fate always makes us run into each other. That's why I hate fucking fate."

Silence.

"Bakura, I told you to go to bed." Marik's voice was low. This time, Bakura heard him coming, so he wasn't startled. He didn't pretend to have accidentally walked into Malik's room either. Some things were too obvious to be kept a secret.

"I'm not tired," Bakura said. "This heavy weight is disturbing me." He showed the wristlock for good measure, hating that tiny flickering light that confirmed his constriction.

Marik didn't comment, just showed him a grin and walked past him. Bakura followed him to his own quarters. Marik's room wasn't that much bigger than Malik's. He immediately switched the lights on, even though the both of them could see perfectly well in the dark. Bakura noticed that Marik had constructed a bathroom adjacent to his bedroom.

"So... what happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" Marik turned around. Bakura grinned. He had seen it just fine, nothing escaped him. Marik had walked in front of him, and as a thief Bakura was trained to notice even the smallest changes.

"I get it… your right side isn't working well, is it?"

"And what if it doesn't?"

"It cripples your usual speed. So not only your Other has a problem, you have a problem as well."

"We're old, Bakura."

"Bullshit," the thief answered crudely.

"I need some time to get it all repaired."

"To get it repaired where?" Bakura quickly tried to calculate the trajectory of the _October. _They had recently left Wremmoor, and his own ship was still docked at the spaceport there. He had to track back and review his plans if Marik was going to dump him on whatever planet; his perfectly forged identification card could get him everywhere, but it would be a huge loss of time. "You're still going to drop me off at the first port we see?"

"At the first moment I get a chance, I'll fucking kick you off."

"You're so sexy when you're grouchy."

"Fuck off."

"So… which side of the bed is mine?"


	7. Chapter 7

Every four months, KaibaCorp. Headquarters held a career day for current and future employees. The large tower, a skyscraper unsurpassed in height and splendor at any of the other planets in the known universe, opened its doors for visitors, presenting career possibilities ranging from secretary to software programmer. As a huge inter-galaxy corporation, KaibaCorp. was in constant need of personnel, if only to keep the massive amounts of generated data under control; there wasn't a planet or a business branch that wasn't somehow influenced or controlled by the company. KaibaCorp. as an employer wasn't necessarily ranked among the well-paying companies or even providing the best benefits; it was simply so… _vast _that it was a common factor in everybody's life, in daily life, in general.

Kaiba Seto left the entire organization of the career day to his Human Resources Department. He didn't bother hiring personnel himself unless it was for extremely specific positions. He was too busy to occupy himself with the mundane task of recruiting people; he made sure that the key positions in his management teams were occupied by employees he trusted. Nobody got a chance at stabbing him in the back, and if in some kind of circumstances they did, it would be the end of their career, if not -discreetly- their life. There was only one department he didn't entrust Human Resources to recruit people for: bounty hunting. Very few people knew of this particular 'branch' KaibaCorp. was involved in and as far as Kaiba was concerned, it stayed that way. If the police or special task forces failed to apprehend the scum of the universe, KaibaCorp. was there to deal with the problem; off the record, discreet, and swift. Of course, Kaiba Seto had no interest in petty, common criminals. He didn't have time to worry about bank robbers, burglars or smugglers. His interest was only piqued at bounties of one million genz and higher; and a bounty of five million was so rare, that it almost made him excited. Looking down from his office at the top floor, Kaiba could only see black dots crawling around, in and out of the building.

"Ants," he said.

"What?"

"Ants," Kaiba repeated. "Crawling, pathetic, insignificant ants."

Mokuba yawned. "You're always such a happy, fun person when you have gotten less than three hours of sleep."

"Who said I got less than three hours of sleep?"

"I did," Mokuba was merciless, "I can see it. You can't hide a thing from me, big brother. You should really get some sleep. You need it."

"Sleep is for the weak. What is scheduled for today?"

Mokuba yawned again and rolled off of the comfortable sofa. The Kaiba brothers owned a splendid mansion on Altana, with their own personal staff, but they spend most of the days and nights at Headquarters. The top floor didn't only house offices, but also a luxury apartment with a kitchen, two bathrooms and two bedrooms. Mokuba wrapped an afghan around him as he walked to the large mahogany desk to get his brother's holo-agenda. He pressed a few buttons.

"Let's see… boring meeting, boring meeting, another boring meeting and let's see… surprise surprise, another boring meeting!"

"Mokuba," Kaiba grunted. "I want to know what kind of -"

"I expected a progress report from Jounouchi by now," Mokuba interrupted him. "The _Time Wizard_ left Wremmoor this morning."

"What, is he coming back to HQ already?" Kaiba heaved a dramatic sigh. "I never should've hired him."

Mokuba chose to ignore that remark. "We currently don't have many other high-profile cases like the Ishtar one. Perhaps you should go downstairs and surprise the people by actually showing your face for once?"

Kaiba snorted. "I don't deal with mindless drones."

"Those mindless drones want to work for you, big brother," Mokuba reminded him. "Without personnel, even a mighty corporation like KaibaCorp. is paralyzed. Someone has to do the work."

"Fine. I don't deal with those on the lowest steps of the ladder, then."

"Surprise the people," Mokuba said, his tone of voice a little teasing, but also a little pressing. "The tabloids are already speculating that you have a terminal disease or are a vampire by night because you show your face so little. It would be great PR. Besides, if there are any important calls, I can take them."

"You're getting too smart for your own good," Kaiba grunted. He entertained the idea of actually going downstairs for a minute. The shock value would be amusing; he hadn't left his office in… months? Years? When was the last time he had been at his mansion? He couldn't even remember. He decided to get changed and go downstairs. Who knew he might meet someone interesting.

* * *

Ryou looked up at the impressive building. KaibaCorp. Headquarters exceeded every expectation he had. He tried not to get too overwhelmed; he was feeling tired from the long trip to Altana. He was still wondering why he was actually doing this. It wasn't like he was going to _see_ Kaiba anyway, or even get past his secretaries. The first three floors of the building were open to the visitors, the rest was off-limits. A lot of KaibaCorp. employees were present to answer questions, and vidscreens all over the place announced lectures about career possibilities. It was very crowded, and Ryou had to tell himself to keep calm. He read a vidscreen laying out the basic qualifications for jobs like working in the archives or data entry. KaibaCorp. offered excellent intern training and education on the work floor. The qualifications increased for the higher positions, but Ryou wasn't here for a job. He heaved a small sigh. Where could he start to look for Kaiba?

After a few hours, he was ready to give up. It had been a serious mistake to think he'd been able to get through to Kaiba himself. The career day was an opportunity to meet him, or so Ryou had thought in all his naivety. He should've known better, he should've known that Kaiba was far too busy to occupy himself with future employees so far below him. To make matters worse, the crowd was increasing, and it grated on his nerves. Ryou decided to leave. He didn't like massive amounts of people in one building, the pushing and pulling, the increasing noise. Yes, it was for the better to just go home - go home and lick his wounds. He could learn from this mistake and brood on other ways to reach Kaiba.

Ryou turned around to leave, at the same moment the crowd went oddly silent. Ryou widened his eyes as people started to whisper.

"Kaiba," he caught the man's name, "it's Kaiba himself!"

"What?" Ryou said out loud. A tall man shushed him.

"It's Kaiba," he repeated, "he's finally showing himself in public!"

Ryou's heart made a leap of joy and he quickly looked around, as if Kaiba were to magically appear in front of him. It was amazing how silent a crowd could be, as if a god had arrived in their midst. All heads were turned into one direction: where Kaiba was standing. Flanked by two burly bodyguards, the young CEO of KaibaCorp. looked every inch a ruler. Ryou had to admit that he was impressive; according to the general information known about Kaiba, he was barely one year his senior and had accomplished more than one could ever do in a lifetime. The very few existent pictures of Kaiba Seto didn't do him much justice; they failed to capture those icy blue, determined and piercing eyes, sweeping over the crowd. Not even a fly would escape that gaze; Ryou felt as if he had been X-rayed on the spot. Short-cropped, auburn hair framed Kaiba's stern face, stressed by the huge collar of his white and grey coat with the KaibaCorp. logo pinned on the lapel.

"Kaiba!" someone yelled, breaking the trance all of the sudden. "Kaiba, what's the secret to your success?"

"Kaiba! How much profit will you report this year?" Someone else yelled and the entire crowd broke out in questions, voices loud and roaring, and hands went up in the air, people desperately trying to get the CEO's attention. With a smirk on his lips, almost amused, Kaiba simply looked at the crowd, allowing the cacophony for another two minutes before raising his hand. The crowd went silent again.

"Thank you for visiting KaibaCorp.," he said. "It's a pleasure to see so many young and talented people interested in working for the galaxy's greatest enterprise!" Mokuba owed him big time for this. "We offer a great future for those who come into our employment, continuing to build and expand our success throughout the universe." Big, big time. Just look at all those faces; people were just like ants indeed, crowded and crawling at his feet. "I can't answer all your questions, but there are plenty of others around who can." With a terse movement of his head, he nodded at the employees who were trained to handle everything concerning a career day. Satisfied, Kaiba already turned around to leave.

"Kaiba, Kaiba, wait!" The crowd moved forward, and the bodyguards tensed up, ready to use their large hands to push everyone bothering Kaiba out of the way and, if need be, using their fists to make sure their boss was safe. Ryou wrestled himself through the crowd, using his elbows to move people out of his way. It went against his entire character, polite and modest as he was, but this was an opportunity he couldn't afford to waste. He _had _to talk to Kaiba, he _had _to get the man's attention, one way or the other. Mumbling "sorry, sorry" and "excuse me" as he slid past people and ducked under arms and avoided being hit with bags. He saw how Kaiba turned his back to the crowd, with every intention to go back to his own office, leaving his employees to deal with everyone. He was almost at the front row of the crowd, and Ryou all but stretched his arms, reaching for Kaiba - only to meet an unstoppable wall. The bodyguards had Kaiba's back, and efficiently rebuked everyone coming too close to the CEO. Ryou grunted. He had come all this way, he was so convinced of his own theories, he wanted to _share _them with Kaiba; yet he had totally lost every sense of reality. A grown CEO didn't want to hear about ancient Ceremonial Tablets and God Cards. Ryou simply had to try. He opened his mouth and started talking, increasing his voice as he was drowned out by the others, all begging, demanding, wanting, _needing _Kaiba's attention. The bodyguards pushed them back, repeating that everybody should keep calm and no, Kaiba wasn't going to answer questions, Kaiba was going back to his office… Ryou was about to give up. He never had the strength to move past these bodyguards, and his voice was too soft, no matter how hard he yelled, to be overheard.

Then, an opportunity presented itself. One young man jumped in front of Kaiba, breaking free from the crowd, bypassing the overwhelmed bodyguards.

"Kaiba, a picture!" The man said, waving a device in the air that got the bodyguards' attention - with lightning speed, they jumped on him, wrestling him to the ground, crashing the device with a steel-toed boot.

"My holographer!" His wail was muffled by the bulking bodyguards restraining him, and Ryou used the chaos to slip between the bodyguards and Kaiba himself. Swallowing, he looked up at the distracted CEO, watching the scene unfold - Ryou had read Kaiba's stats, but he really towered above him, and he had to crane his neck.

"Kaiba…" How to address a man like him? Somehow 'Mister Kaiba' didn't really cover it… his voice abandoned him, leaving him squeaking like a fangirl in front of Kaiba, but it got his attention. The sharp, blue eyes went from the wrestling bodyguards to Ryou, with such a disdain that it made him cower.

"I…" Ryou started, and that was all the time he got. Now that the wannabe-photographer had been restrained, the other bodyguard had his hands free again and was quick to get back on his feet, grabbing Ryou at the upper arm. The man's fingers felt like logs crushing his bones, and he gasped in pain.

"Apologies, Master Kaiba," the man blurted out, "the situation's under control again. It wasn't a gun." He yanked at Ryou's arm again. "I'll take care of this one."

"Not a moment to soon," Kaiba snorted, and took a step forward, not bothering to look at Ryou. _One chance. One opportunity. Now!_

"I think you are the descendant of an Ancient Egyptian priest!"

That got everyone's attention. Kaiba snapped his head back, his eyes widened, looking at him as if he had sprouted a second head. "I believe that you are involved in a prophecy concerning the God Cards."

"God Cards?" Ryou noticed the flicker in Kaiba's eyes. Of course the CEO knew all about them, it was thanks to him that the holographic versions of the cards were displayed in the Expanding Galaxies Contemporary Museum. "What about them?"

"Master Kaiba, if you allow me…" The bodyguard tugged once more at Ryou's arm, eluding another hiss of pain. Kaiba raised his hand and the bodyguard froze his movement.

"What about them?" He repeated, as if he wasn't standing in the middle of a silent crowd.

"They are depicted on a Ceremonial Tablet from ancient times, together with a priest and a Pharaoh," Ryou spoke so quick that he fumbled his words, "and the priest bears an uncanny likeness to you. As the Ancient Egyptians believed in _baa _and _kaa _and reincarnation, I think…"

"Take him to my office," Kaiba brusquely said and swept past Ryou and the bodyguard, leaving everyone in his wake baffled.

* * *

"Back so soon, big brother?" Mokuba sat leisurely on the sofa, enjoying a tall glass of orange juice. His own laptop was on the coffee table, the screen showing cartoon-ish pictures of cars, games and battle robots; after all, intelligent as he was, Mokuba Kaiba was still a child. He wasn't very perturbed at his elder brother not greeting him in return and stalking to his large mahogany desk, sitting down with an abrupt movement and starting up his own laptop.

"I take it things went well." Mokuba shrugged. His brother would never change, and he knew him long enough to be able to read his body language. Seto was brooding about something, the way he was typing away at his keyboard. Whatever it was, at the moment it wasn't important enough to give up his break. One could only do so much studying in the morning, and he had more work to do in the afternoon. Despite his young age, he was already Vice-President of KaibaCorp. - and it wasn't just a title.

"Do you remember Duel Monsters?" Mokuba raised an eyebrow. Why would his brother suddenly mention a game that was…

"Illegal, banned, blah blah? Yeah, I remember Duel Monsters. You have all the decks and cards belonging to that game, big brother. It's worth millions of genz on the black market. I don't know why you purchased every card belonging to the game, but I do remember distinctly your fondness for the dragon cards… Blue Eyes White Dragon, right?"

"Right." Kaiba laced his fingers together.

"What's going on?" Mokuba's voice raised a pitch. Surprised, he almost tumbled off of the sofa when the door to the office went open and the two bodyguards entered, dragging a young kid with them.

"Master Kaiba," the right bodyguard said, "We…"

"Leave," Kaiba snapped. "You're fired, the both of you. Get out!"

Without another word, the bodyguards slinked off, leaving the kid in the middle of the office, right on the hand-made woolen carpet. Mokuba squinted his eyes. From this distance, it was hard to judge the other's age, but he had to be a student, he was still that young. Indignant, Mokuba climbed on the sofa again.

"Are you going to tell me what's this all about, big brother?"

The 'big brother' elicited a reaction from the young man, startling him a little bit.

"Tell me the exact nature of your visit," Kaiba demanded. "You have five minutes and make it more interesting than what you already told me."

"Allow me to show you this," Ryou stuttered, taking out his PMA from his bag. He had charged his Personal Manager Applicator before he left and switched to projection mode. He scrolled through the files to get to the pictures he wanted to show. Kaiba didn't look up when he projected images of the Ceremonial Tablet.

"This is all courtesy of the Expanding Galaxies Contemporary Museum," Ryou added nervously. He had known Kaiba had a younger brother, but it was so… unreal to see him in the flesh, just as it was unreal to be in Kaiba's office. "They have an exhibition on Ancient Egypt… I… ahem… the tablet depicts a duel between a Pharaoh and his priest, but unfortunately the ancient texts don't mention the winner. On the top, there are three images, representing the God Cards from the Duel Monsters game, an illegal game that… somehow caused the turmoil on Earth…"

"We all know that." Kaiba's voice was curt. "Is this nothing more than to prove that Duel Monsters existed back in Ancient Egypt or something?"

"You know what the God Cards looked like in real life," Ryou said. "No one else does. How would you know? Because you are the incarnation of the priest." He moved to point at the displayed image, and now Kaiba finally looked in the same direction.

"Pharaoh? Priest? That could be anyone." Kaiba grunted. "I thought you had something interesting to say, but you keep mentioning this ancient nonsense. The past is the past, and we look towards the future."

"Reincarnation is the future," Ryou shot back. "_You_ are the future, the future version of the priest depicted on the Ceremonial Tablet. The God Cards are tied to you." He was waiting for Kaiba to answer his question about how he knew what the God Cards looked like, but the CEO kept his mouth shut. An awkward silence followed.

"And the prophecy part?" He finally asked.

"I'm not so sure about that," Ryou answered, a little deflated. "History tends to repeat itself. If the God Cards are still in existence, and with your knowledge on them, it might be that they can be used for another catastrophe, one we have to avoid. I… I would have to do some research on that matter."

Another silence. Ryou bit his lip. The five minutes had gone by, and he was still alive, standing in Kaiba's office. If he thought the earlier moments of silence had been awkward, it was nothing compared to the current silence. It felt like Kaiba was subconsciously taking him apart, piece by piece, and examining every piece before putting it back together.

"I think it's very interesting, Seto," Mokuba piped up from the couch, breaking the silence.

"Sometimes I wish you would just keep calling me 'big brother'," Kaiba muttered. "Every time you call me by the first name, I know there's going to be trouble. All right, you're my special advisor in this, Ryou Bakura."

Advisor? Why would Kaiba need him to be an advisor for? "What do you mean?"

"The God cards are interesting," Kaiba said. "I want to have the real cards. And you're going to find them for me."

"Find them for you?" He panicked. That wasn't why he had come here! "But my studies..!"

"You can contact your principal or dean or whatever it's called that you've put your studies on hold. Are you looking for a scholarship? Is it finances you're worried about?"

"Well, uhm, yes, it has taken a considerable amount of money to get here…" Ryou said, but his brain was working differently than his mouth. Was he really complaining to Kaiba of all people about money? He wasn't even able to wrap his head around what Kaiba was actually proposing… no, _telling _him what to do. The God Cards..?

"Take it up with Shizuka Kawaii, she's from Human Resources." Kaiba scribbled her name on a paper. "Tell her to get you started on a research funds and a place to stay as well. Now get out, I have work to do."

With his last lingering sense of reality, Ryou plucked the note from Kaiba's desk and took his PMA, switching off the projections. As he did, he caught Mokuba looking at him - a little mischievous perhaps, but certainly not unfriendly. He stammered his thanks, even though he wasn't really sure where he was thanking Kaiba for; all that Ryou knew, was that he was into this over his head and he had no idea how to reach the surface again.

* * *

When the last notes of the piano music faded, Anzu allowed her feet to rest on the polished wooden floor, carefully finishing her ballet position. Her toes ached, sweat ran all over her back, and her muscles protested. It didn't show on her face; she wore a perfect expression of elegance and beauty, as if nothing could touch or hurt her. How reality was different… she wanted to collapse where she was standing, but Madame Korishnova was strict; if she gave up now, the old lady would ban her for at least a week.

"Hold the pose, Mazaki!" For an elderly woman, she had the voice of a bullhorn; Anzu had since long stopped wincing. She was used to the harsh discipline and the strict regimen; it was her life, dancing was her whole universe. Madame was the best teacher around; she wouldn't survive in the dancing world without the proper classic education. "Hold the pose!"

_For how much longer_? Anzu took great pride in her ballet classes, grateful that she could afford it. Vertregg 12 wasn't a planet invested in arts, dance or culture; it was a luxury of the lowest priorities. People were too busy with their jobs and real life, and an exhibit or a performance wasn't part of it. Anzu had always felt like an outsider, preferring dancing and art in general over slaving at an office desk, taking orders from cranky bosses, and saving up for a retirement funds. If it was up to her, she would dance, her whole life, even if it meant surviving on dry bread and water. Suddenly, she noticed that she had slacked a little; her arm wasn't any longer in the perfect position she held it in before.

"Fine. We're done." Madame Korishnova gazed at Anzu over the rim of her glasses, licking her wrinkled lips. So far, she had always encouraged Anzu to continue dancing and Madame didn't bother encouraging people without talent. The ballet studio was her only source of income, still she rejected everyone who didn't meet her list of requirements. Her husband had died a few years ago, leaving her little to no pension; Anzu was assuming the woman was living on air, judging her thin frame. Frame of steel that was, as she was still able to keep up with the exercises and routines Anzu had difficulties performing. She wouldn't utter one bad word about her teacher, but a compliment every once in a while would be nice. Anzu relaxed however, and went to the corner to pick up a towel, dabbing at her face.

"Thank you for the class, Madame," Anzu thanked her. The woman appreciated good manners and as she tutored private lessons, Anzu saw no reason not to thank her for her time.

"Work on those arms, Mazaki," was all the recognition she got. It was fairly tame in comparison what Madame once had mentioned about her body, her positions, her weight… but it was all part of the deal. Anzu had build up quite the thick skin and she knew what she was capable of. She didn't need flattery or sweet words, she needed to reach the top, and she couldn't get there without stepping on some toes. With a curt nod at her teacher, Anzu went through the door to the dressing room. It was as small as a broom closet, but she didn't care. She picked up her pile of clothes and started to take off her sweat-soaked leotard. Using the towel to wipe off the sweat on her skin, she was looking forward to the moment she could take a shower. Madame didn't offer that kind of service; water was scarce and she wasn't going to share her rations with her students. Anzu didn't mind. She'd be home pretty soon.

She dressed herself, taking her time as to not put more stress to her already strained muscles. Ah, a shower and a massage, now _that _would be bliss! Dumping her sweaty leotard and the almost soaked towel into her bag - she was going to have to do laundry - Anzu left the dressing room and the ballet studio, only to be immediately hugged by Yuugi as soon as she got outside.

"How did it go?" he asked. It was tradition for him to pick her up after ballet class; they had enough time to spare before the curfew would hit, enough time for a nice walk, spending some time together without curious grandfathers, inquiring family or any other obligation. Anzu enjoyed these small hours so much, it was wonderful to have time with her fiancé alone. She couldn't wait until they were able to afford a home on their own.

"The usual," she answered airily. Yuugi knew how taxing the classes were, and often suggested she'd go to another teacher. She had always refused; Madame was the perfect teacher and she was learning as much as she could. One day, she would surpass her teacher, and then it was time to branch out and find her true destiny in dance and performance. He looked at her, slightly frowning, but he let it slide.

"Something you want to do in particular?" He asked. "Burger World? Watching the fountain? Shopping before curfew?"

"Nah, I don't feel like having people all around me right now." Anzu looped her arm through his and pressed herself close. He returned the gesture with all the love and warmth she was used to receive, and she was relieved that nothing had changed about that. Ever since Atemu had suddenly popped up in their lives, Yuugi had started talking about him more than Anzu would like to hear. The strange 'traveler' dropped by the GameShop every day, talking to Yuugi and his grandfather about Egypt as if he'd been there. Atemu was far too young to have lived when Earth still existed, Anzu thought. He couldn't be much older than Yuugi - her fiancé might look like he hadn't finished high school yet, his ID was certainly proving that wrong. "I just want to spend some time with you."

"Likewise." Yuugi hated that he was smaller than Anzu, and he looked up at her, smiling. "Shall we go to the park, then?"

"That's fine by me." It was a short walk and even though there would be other people in the park, there was enough green to have a little privacy. Anzu scrapped her longing for a shower; she wanted some kissing and cuddling first! Yuugi didn't continue the conversation... in fact, he wasn't saying anything. Anzu raised her eyebrows. He always talked about his grandfather, the GameShop, games in general, customers, and annoyingly enough, about Atemu. But he hadn't mentioned him once since picking up Anzu from the ballet school, which was strange; usually he would've thrown out the name in the first minute he saw her.

"Yuugi, you're not talking," Anzu said without any reproach or anger in her voice. She was genuinely curious.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about something…" Yuugi was a bad liar, and she didn't even need to remind him. She stood still.

"What's the matter?"

"I want to ask you something," Yuugi said, keeping his eyes low. She disliked it when he did that; his eyes were so beautifully honest and open, and when he didn't look at her, it felt like something really, really bad was going on.

"What is it?" He hadn't broken up their contact, her arm was still looped through his.

"I want to visit Atemu-kun on his ship," Yuugi said. "I would like to see his ship. Only with your permission, of course."

Anzu frowned. In less than a week, Atemu had made it from '-san' to '-kun'. It grated on her nerves. She tried to not let it show. Somehow, the other had grown important to Yuugi, and she didn't want to hurt him. She also had to remind himself that despite Yuugi's innocent look and behavior, he was much smarter and observant than she gave him credit for. He had infallibly picked up on her aversion towards Atemu, despite her trying to hide it. It touched her that he asked for her permission even though he was more than competent enough to go to the docks and meet Atemu on his own. She brought up her other hand and ruffled his hair.

"If it's so important to you, of course you may visit him," she said. He beamed up at her, and she couldn't help from returning the smile. That was the Yuugi she knew, and she loved to see him happy.

"Thank you so much, Anzu!" He reached up on his toes to kiss her on the cheek. "I've never been inside a real spaceship."

"You're welcome," she said and resumed walking again. As if a dam had broken, Yuugi started talking about his day at the GameShop, a particularly funny customer and a new hologame that was recently developed. They arrived at the park and while Yuugi was talking, Anzu suddenly realized that she wasn't looking forward to the kissing and cuddling anymore. Her stomach turned itself into knots. She had the agonizing feeling that her permission was going to be the end of everything she had worked and lived for.


	8. Chapter 8

The thrumming noises of the engines didn't bother Otogi at all. After so many years of space travel, he was used to every aspect of it (except for the launch which never failed to make him nauseous, much to his colleagues' hilarity). The _Time Wizard _was a small ship, designed and build for speed, and didn't offer much practical comfort or room. Otogi reclined in his chair. Fortunately, the designers/builders of the _Time Wizard _hadn't hold back on the chairs, much to Otogi's joy; the fabric was pliant and adjusting to body weight and height, offering a relaxing comfort that made space flight so much more bearable. He'd worked on other ships, always resulting in hideous backaches and other physical discomfort. Otogi knew that Jounouchi, his team leader, had helped designing The _Time Wizard_. He was probably the one behind the obvious luxury of the chairs, seeing how tall he was, not to mention his friend Honda. Otogi was slightly smaller, but that didn't mean he wasn't appreciating what he was offered. He couldn't count the hours he had napped in this chair, and feeling very rested once he opened his eyes again.

The only one taking a nap now, was Honda. The weapons specialist was surprisingly enough a light sleeper, despite his loud snoring and mumbling. Both Jounouchi and Otogi ignored him. Jounouchi sat in front, piloting the ship and calculating the course back to Altana. It wasn't that unusual for Jounouchi to be silent - despite his brash behavior and his big mouth, he had his moments of intelligent contemplation - and so Otogi used the silence (ever so often distorted by Honda's snoring) to continue his work. The armrest of the chair was equipped with a fairly large vidscreen and he was tapping at it, arranging and compiling all the information he had recovered at Wremmoor. He was searching databases, going through all his networks and contacts, in his hunt for the mysterious Ishtar and his five million genz bounty.

"Any results?" Jounouchi asked, breaking the silence. An impressive control panel was in front of him, a few lights blinking. The trajectory home had already been calculated and plotted, the ship was running on autopilot. Jounouchi liked to tinker with all the buttons and handles, but he had been completely lost in thoughts. Out of sheer curiosity, Otogi liked to wonder what his team leader was thinking of in those rare moments - probably longing for Mai - but they didn't spend much time together outside of work. They were colleagues yes, friends perhaps, but not very _good _friends. Honda had known Jounouchi for much longer, but even he had admitted that his friend had depths and secrets to him that he didn't know about.

"Four hits, so far," Otogi answered. "Based on the description, I'd say it's not bad."

"Four hits only?" Honda yawned. He stretched in his chair, lifting his arms over his head. "From that so-called description I figured you'd have millions."

"I set the parameters for young people," Otogi said, pronouncing his words as if he was talking to a dimwitted child. "White hair is an exceptionally rare trait for a young person, and my contacts were very sure it was a young man, not an elderly one."

Honda crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Fine, fine," he grunted. He didn't like Otogi's natural-born sense of superiority. "Show us."

Otogi tapped a few commands to share the images with the others. Jounouchi and Honda pulled up their vidscreens, fingers operating the electronics with a familiar routine. Otogi waited until they were ready, and patched the images through. He called out the names matching the person in the picture, even though the name was visible in the right upper corner.

"And at last, one Bakura Ryou."

"A high school kid with a penchant for Earth studies," Jounouchi snorted. "This one scores massive points on the nerd-meter!"

"Says the one who almost failed high school," Honda said airily. Jounouchi shook his fist at him, hanging out of his chair.

"Says the one who wanted to make a career as a janitor!"

"Boys, boys," Otogi tsk-ed at them. "Keep calm, we're in the middle of space, here."

"Don't fret, dice boy, everything's set on automatic." Honda shifted in his chair, sulking.

Otogi ignored the nickname he abhorred so much and continued to study the images.

"What are you thinking, oh master strategist?" Jounouchi swiveled his chair around, so all three were facing each other. Honda seemed to sulk, but Otogi had noticed the sharp look in his eyes. Honda was paying attention, and puzzling the pieces together in his own mind. Nobody in the bounty hunting business survived for long if the only thing you could do was to follow orders. You needed all your wits and intellect, and even though Otogi was loath to admit, even Honda was more than intelligent enough to realize this.

"If anyone of these four is the victim, then we have to find out why Ishtar was interested in him. He must've had something that was important, or had some kind of leverage; I don't see Ishtar nabbing people just for fun or to ask for random. It's not his modus operandi."

"We don't know about his financial resources," Honda said. "Maybe this is the way he finances his huge ship and supplies?"

"You could be onto something." Jounouchi looked pensive. "We don't know where he gets his money from, especially when operating a cargo ship without transporting cargo."

"I know," Otogi said, "I've investigated it myself, remember? I just don't think Ishtar would go around kidnapping people at random. And if he's been around for as long as we think he is, he would've had to kidnap many people to keep the cash flowing."

"Are any of these people rich? High-profiled?"

Honda brushed at the picture of Bakura Ryou. "A high school kid certainly wouldn't be my first choice."

"His family might be rich. We have to do a background check on these people."

"I'm on it, boss," Otogi grinned. "How long before we arrive at Altana?"

"A couple of hours still. Work your magic, Otogi. I want to present a report as complete as possible to Kaiba."

* * *

Bakura remembered climbing into the bed with Marik just to spite the other, but he hadn't thought he would actually fall asleep. He opened his eyes and blinked. He stared at the ceiling and it took him a few seconds to realize what had happened. _Fuck. _He felt extremely vulnerable when asleep, especially around another One. Bakura rolled onto his side and immediately his hands went to his back, pulling a small, black device from his belt. He hadn't even undressed; there was no need for it. Quickly, he looked at the display and checked the stats; it was his _synthfuser_, an intricate piece of equipment that simply kept him in existence, keeping his body grounded in this universe, this timeline, this life. _Fuck. _His vitals had been low and he hadn't noticed. He had to hand it to Marik, it was the only thing he was grateful for; without the _synthfuser _every One would be dead a long, long time ago. Bakura grimaced at the thought of being grateful for one of Marik's inventions, but it was simply the truth.

Stumbling and fumbling, Bakura made his way over to the cockpit of the _October_. Not to his surprise, he saw both Marik and Malik sitting at their respective stations. The thief was annoyed that apparently he had slept even longer than the others, making him feel even more vulnerable. Damn body and its stupid needs!

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Marik said.

"Morning," Bakura mumbled in return. He had no idea of the time, but it wasn't like space had its own sunset. Even if he had been able to look outside, he would see nothing but the vast emptiness of space, with stars and nebulas; a dream for most people, a common view for Bakura. He didn't care for twinkling stars and unknown galaxies. He walked over to Marik and wrapped his arms around him. "Did you sleep well too, my love?"

"Quit it," Marik snapped back and pushed Bakura away. "Make yourself useful. Stop bothering me."

"Tsk tsk, that's no way to greet the one you love." Bakura turned around, just in time to catch Malik hiding a chuckle behind his hand. So, he found this all pretty amusing, didn't he? Stupid kid. The thief refrained from sighing in annoyance, as he was reminded on the heavy weight on his arm. The wristlock was still firmly in place, distorting his powers. He really had to get rid of it, and fast. "How are you suggesting I make myself useful?"

"Just sit down and shut the fuck up," Marik growled. "You're nothing but trouble, Bakura."

"So why did you force me to tag along?" Bakura complained. "You could've just left me on Wremmoor, you know!"

"You were attacking my Other, and still you think I would've left you alone?"

"Aw, come on! People get robbed everywhere, every time. It's his fault for wearing gold in public!"

"I was using my alterfactor," Malik said, sounding hurt. "You weren't supposed to see through it!"

"Well yeah, I am the King of Thieves, of course I see right through it!"

"Shut _up_ the both of you!" Marik's voice was so loud that both Malik and Bakura were startled, effectively shutting up. With an angry look on his face, Malik concentrated on whatever computer program that was running on his vidscreen, and Bakura, a little bit haughty, went to sit down in one of the free chairs. The thief curled himself up, but his eyes never left Malik. He could see how the pent-up anger was eating at the boy, and he had no way of unleashing all that anger. Bakura's lips wore just a hint of a grin. _Nothing ever changed, indeed_. Marik still hated loud noises, and he still kept his Other on the edge of an explosion of anger. It was what sustained Marik's own presence - raw anger and hatred, build up through the years, centuries, eons.

Strangely enough, the silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable at all. It was a familiar silence, as Marik never spoke much and Malik wasn't talkative either. Bakura reclined into the chair, his mind overflowing with plans and new strategies. The maddening weight of the wristlock drifted into the background as he was sifting through his options, weighing pros and cons, until the silence was interrupted by -

"Marik, the scanners are picking up a familiar presence," Malik said. "It looks like we have found ourselves an Other."

"What? Who?" Both Marik and Bakura responded so violently that Malik was taken aback.

"I can't tell yet, I'll have to send in the bots."

"Then send them to do their work," Marik snarled. Bakura frowned. He got up from his chair and closed the distance between himself and Malik, who was frantically typing at his keyboard, his fingers so fast that even Bakura couldn't follow his movements.

"Bots?" he asked.

"Little spying programs," Malik explained. "I wrote them myself. I can send them to crawl all over the ICDR without being traced. That's how I found out that KaibaCorp. was on our ass."

The Intergalaxy Criminal Database Records was exactly what it said: a database holding every record, every file, every little scrap of information on registered criminals throughout the entire galaxy. No civilian had access to ICDR, only authorities, and their access was gradually restricted, certainly when it came to the most toughest and ruthless criminals. The levels of access to ICDR was a whole bureaucratic trap on its own, and people liked to whisper that only KaibaCorp. had been granted full view. Of course, people also liked to gossip that KaibaCorp. had designed ICDR just to keep track of everyone and everything.

"It turns out to be a registration number for a Bakura," Malik said, surprise in his voice.

"What? I'm not a registered civilian!"

"Bakura Ryou," Malik read out aloud.

"Where did he register?" Marik's voice was gruff.

"Fuck," Malik said.

"Did he register to fuck?" Bakura widened his eyes.

"No, you moron. He registered at planet Kaiba."

"Altana," Marik explained. "We don't want to be there."

The thief growled. Of course he knew what planet Kaiba was, of course he knew what kind of trouble it entailed. Bakura Ryou… so that was the name of his Other in this time, right? He almost wanted to rub his hands in sheer glee, if he hadn't been hindered by that stupid wristlock. This changed his plans considerably, but not for the worse. Oh no, he could work with this _perfectly_.

A shrill beeping noise interrupted his train of thoughts.

"It seems we are very lucky today," Marik grinned ruthlessly as he pulled up a vidscreen and stared at the displayed trajectory. "The LAV-9739 has docked at Vertregg 12."

"LAV what?"

"Light Air Vessel," Marik said. "Really Bakura, you should recognize the Pharaoh's ship by its tag number now."

Bakura snorted. "Typically him to dock at a planet that's known for its bureaucracy. He should feel right at home."

"Could he have found his Other?" Malik's voice held a little bit of excitement. Bakura couldn't help it; both anxiety and excitement were flowing through his body as well. If he had found his Other, and the Pharaoh was around with his Other, then they'd be all together since a very long time, and he knew what that meant, inevitably. He had to put his plans much faster into motion than he anticipated, but he had always kept margins for surprises like this.

"I don't know." Marik rested his head on his hand. "However, from the three of us, the Pharaoh has always been the most accurate in pinpointing the location of his Other, so we might as well presume he found him on Vertregg 12."

"Then we have to find Ryou," Bakura said. "You know what this means, Marik!" He didn't fail to notice the look on Malik's face. The boy didn't know about anything, didn't know about the importance of all of it. It was Marik's fault to keep everything from him, but Bakura wasn't about to shed a light and answer all the unspoken questions, hanging in the air.

"Don't be stupid." Marik showed a lopsided grin. "I'm not going to Altana, Bakura. You can travel there yourself and see how much you like captivity there. I'm not going to save you."

"Fine." Bakura huffed. "You were going to dump me at the nearest spaceport anyway. I'll find my way back to Altana… but I'm not responsible for everything that happens because you're such a lazy fucking ass!"

"An ass about what? What's going on?" Malik had finally mustered up the courage to ask out loud.

"It's none of your business," Marik cut him short. Bakura laughed out loud, a short, deep bark. Malik frowned and glared at the same time, contorting his face.

"I want to know what this is about! You can't keep telling me it's 'none of my business'!"

"I can, and I will!" Marik's pupil-less eyes fixed on Malik's, and as usual, the younger one cowered. No one was able to stay calm when being transfixed by Marik's creepy eyes. "Plot a course to the nearest spaceport and ask permission to dock. Get to it!"

As a last act of defiance, Malik muttered some curse words under his breath, and sat down slowly, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. Marik focused his attention back on Bakura, and the thief held up his hands in defense.

"Before you cast me out, you're not going to forget about this little thing, are you?" He shook his arm with the wristlock for good measure.

"Fucking hell, Bakura, you're such a fucking bother." Marik took a step forward and he typed in a code at the bottom of the lock. With a soft hiss, the wristlock parted and Bakura shook it off quickly, as if being stung. The device fell with a thud on the floor, harmless. Groaning, Bakura started massaging his wrist, the blood flowing freely again. His skin tingled with prickly sensations, as if a thousand thick needles were injected all at once.

"And my coat," he said.

"And your coat," Marik repeated. "Malik has put it somewhere. Ask him." He turned around and took his seat again, dismissing both Bakura and Malik as soon as he was behind the controls. Bakura kneaded his wrist, moving his hand in every direction. He wasn't able to wipe off the smirk of his face. Marik had just given him _carte blanche _without realizing it. Oh, he was going to pay dearly for humiliating the Thief King. Very dearly.

* * *

"I am so glad that you came to visit me." Atemu's voice was suave, a little lower than usual. He'd truly been surprised when Yuugi had showed up at the space port; he figured that his little Other needed more time to get used to the changes in his life. Yuugi failed to see the new currents around him, but the girl he was with, Anzu, had a very sharp insight. Atemu needed to get between those two before he could slowly, but surely, pry Yuugi away from her. He didn't like it, it wasn't his intention to hurt people, to hurt Anzu, but some collateral damage was hardly evitable. The end always justified the means… in the end.

Yuugi eyed the interior of the ship. The _Datura _was a Light Air Vessel, which meant it was primarily build for speed and short distance travel. He had expected it to be much larger, and much more… well, filled with electronics. He was almost disappointed at the small cockpit, with barely enough room to seat two, the pilot and the co-pilot. Still, he was impressed - he had never been inside a spaceship before, he had never left Vertregg 12 in his entire life. Why would he? Everyone he knew and cared for was here, and he had his job and social obligations here. Space travel was out of his league; not that he had given it much thought. His life was the GameShop, Anzu and his grandfather.

"Wow," he said. Yuugi put his hand on the control panel and eyed the screens, all blackened out as the engine wasn't running. "You sit here, right?"

"When I am piloting the vessel, yes." Atemu was behind Yuugi in the small cockpit, there wasn't room for anyone -or anything- else. Yuugi shivered a little, though it wasn't cold. Atemu was so close he was breathing down Yuugi's neck.

"And you do this all alone?"

"I mostly travel alone, yes."

"Amazing. I would never understand all this stuff." Yuugi's fingers trailed past a few buttons.

"It is not that hard, aib.. Yuugi. It is quite simple, actually. Once you start the engine, you can go wherever you want. The only difficulty is plotting the route, that can be a hassle, yes. You do have to understand your mathematics."

"I failed mathematics all the time," Yuugi said, sullenly.

"Well, there are elaborated programs available on the software market that only need to be fed the coordinates and they will plot the route for you," Atemu said. "I never made use of them, but I have been told they work very well for people who do not have much affinity with mathematics."

"You talk so formally," Yuugi said and he wanted to giggle. Of all the things to do, laughing at another person because of a different speech pattern wouldn't be the wisest move. Besides, he heard enough rough language from the customers all day, it was nearly heaven to hear someone talking politely. "I have to ask you something, though. May I?" he quickly continued.

"You may ask," Atemu said.

"Every so often, when you're pronouncing my name… it almost sounds like you want to say something else, before you say my name. Is there something… I mean, it's not that my name is some kind of difficulty, is it?"

"You are very observant," Atemu said, closing the very small distance between them. Now there wasn't a millimeter of space left between them, and Yuugi's cheeks started to color. He didn't feel threatened, but his heart started to beat in his chest. Loudly. "I am sorry if I offended you, Yuugi. It is a habit from another culture I picked up somewhere, and I cannot seem to shake it off. I have to correct myself from time to time."

"Ah, I see." Yuugi was slightly confused, but he took Atemu's answer for the truth, seeing no reason why he should doubt the other. A little nervous, he asked: "Show me more?"

"But of course." Atemu took a step back and turned around to leave the cockpit. Yuugi followed him, releasing a gust of breath. "This is the pantry."

Yuugi took a look inside. Nothing more than a few cabinets and the smallest sink he had ever seen.

"How do you cook? I don't see any kitchen appliances."

"I usually do not eat on board of my ship," Atemu chuckled softly. "But when I do, there is a hot plate in the upper right cabinet. I simply plug it in and let it heat up."

"You have to be very practical," Yuugi nodded. "There's not much room aboard, and you have to use every inch of space wisely."

"You are correct. I have to do with the basic functions, but there is not much more I require."

"I wouldn't know what to do without all my stuff," Yuugi murmured. There wasn't even a chair or at able in the mini-pantry. He knew that most spaceports housed hotels or any other cheap accommodations for travelers, offering food, beds and a bath for reasonable prices. He simply had assumed that the majority of the spaceships disposed over their own kitchen and bathrooms; he should've known better. There was only so much junk you could take on board. Still, it fascinated him and he wanted to know more.

The machine room of the _Datura _was the largest room, housing the engine and the proton cell packs required to keep the ship fueled and moving once in space. Yuugi eyed the huge equipment, not understanding which device did what, but thoroughly impressed. At last, he was shown Atemu's bedroom.

"So that's why you didn't need a place to stay, you sleep on board of your ship." Yuugi patted the fairly large bed and touched the material of the bed linens. He frowned. "Isn't that illegal, though?"

"It is true that according to regulations, you are supposed to spend your night at an accommodation provided by the spaceport, not on your ship. It is tolerated, though, not truly enforced. It is a matter of economics - they rather want you to spend your money on a bed in a hotel than staying on board. They will not be able to make money off of you if you stay on your ship."

"How much do you travel around?" Yuugi was curious. The bedroom was impersonal; the G-forces would throw around any kind of picture or personal knick-knack. Everything was bolted down. The only personal touch was the scent lingering in the room; quite exotic, like cinnamon and warm sun, if that was possible.

"A lot." Atemu was getting a little fed up with this small talk. It wasn't Yuugi's fault - he didn't know what was going on, he was simply interested in his new 'friend'. Perhaps the time had come, sooner than he thought, to start divulging the truth, little by little. "I see you are very interested, Yuugi. Space travel is a lot different than serving customers in your quaint game shop. Is that how you picture your life? Why do you not come with me?"

"Wh-what?" Yuugi was sure he didn't hear it right. Was Atemu asking him to come along? Why? "I just can't drop everything and leave!"

"Why not?" Atemu sat down on the bed, his face open with a warm smile on his lips. The smile didn't reach his eyes, though. Yuugi was so shocked by his earlier question that he didn't notice the narrow, harsh lines around the crimson red eyes, framed by long, dark lashes.

"I have the game shop to attend to. I can't abandon my grandfather, I can't just leave the house, I can't…! Anzu…"

"You will see your fiancée again," Atemu said. "I am not asking you to abandon your friends and family. That is a sacrifice I would never expect from anyone. Here, take this."

He rummaged through the upper drawer of the small nightstand and pulled out a round, flat device with a small screen and a few buttons integrated in the display.

"What is it?"

"This keeps track of the ship. I can program it so it will keep track of the _Datura_. Anzu will be able to see where we are, all the time, everywhere."

"I'm not sure," Yuugi bit his lip. "I'm not sure she's going to like it."

_I know she's not going to like it._ Atemu handed the tracking device to Yuugi. "I am not asking you to leave immediately, or to leave for years. It would be a chance of a lifetime, Yuugi, to see more of the galaxy instead of this suffocating planet. I am offering you an opportunity, no strings attached, no catch, no hidden agenda."

"Why?" Yuugi said, disbelief written all over his face. "I b-barely know you.."

"You trusted me enough to take me home and offer dinner," Atemu said. "You even offered me a place to stay. You helped me recover my name. I just want to return the favor to you. I always repay my debts."

"You're not in any kind of debt." Yuugi blushed.

"You are too kind for this world." Atemu kept his smile up. He was growing fond of his Other already. "Think about it, Yuugi. It would only be for a few days. Allow me to do something in return for your kindness."

"Yes, I have to think about it," Yuugi nodded vigorously. "And I have to ask grandfather and Anzu…"

"You are strong, Yuugi. You can make your own decisions."

"I… still would like their permission," Yuugi said. "I don't want them to think I'm just running away with you."

Atemu refrained from answering and simply shifted his position on the bed, crossing his legs. _But that's exactly what you're going to do, aibou._


	9. Chapter 9

Jounouchi enjoyed the privileges that came with working for KaibaCorp.. As a high level employee, he didn't have to deal with all the hassle that inevitably came when docking a ship at a spaceport. Taking care of the tags, the admittance and clearance codes in the system was now done by a low-level grunt that would bow and almost salute when seeing Jounouchi's employee card. His special 'membership' card, as Jounouchi liked to call it, cleared the way for him as if he had as much power as Kaiba himself. The card was equipped with all kinds of electronics to grant him immediate access to any spaceport, quick clearance and always the first in line whenever the _Time Wizard _was to be launched. Otogi and Honda had a smilar pass, guarding it with their lives. Kaiba didn't take kindly to anyone who was foolish enough to lose such a treasure. Not many got the chance to work themselves up this high in the ranks of KaibaCorp.. It came with great perks, but also with great stress. Jounouchi flipped his card, looking at his digitized goofy picture. He had a good reason to work for Seto Kaiba. A reason good enough to keep his mouth shut and to do what he was told to do.

The huge skyscraper doomed up in front of them when they took the special transport to the heart of the city. The entire city reminded him of a huge campus, with nothing but KaibaCorp. drones living here. Jounouchi owned a small apartment downtown but he was barely ever at home. Why would he be, when he was hardly around anyway? He didn't like sitting behind a desk, he didn't like spending his time between four walls. He needed to be free, to go out, to go away. His job gave him the freedom to travel around, to avoid being cooped up in a cubicle, to get fresh air whenever he wanted. He slouched a little, reclining into the chair. The private driver was another privilege; no public transport for employees of his level. Otogi and Honda looked a little tired; space travel took a lot of energy out of the body. Jounouchi knew his friends owned an apartment as well, somewhere at the outskirts of the city. He had visited Honda's place a couple of times, as they had been friends as long as they knew each other. He didn't know a thing about Otogi's dwelling, though - he had been the last one to join the team, and though Jounouchi considered him a good colleague and a friend, they didn't know each other on a real personal level yet. Jounouchi stretched his long legs. Returning to KaibaCorp. always felt like returning to some kind of imprisonment and he usually staved off reporting in as long as possible. With such a high-profile case like the Ishtar family, he didn't have much of a choice. Kaiba would kill him if he didn't keep him up-to-date.

The others were talking, something about an advertisement they'd seen along the way. It probably featured a scantily clad woman, otherwise it wouldn't have gotten their attention. Jounouchi had to grin. No matter what the others thought of him, he regarded them as friends. The team was completely adjusted to each other and they had brought in many renegade criminals. All the reason more to celebrate their success, but something didn't settle well with Jounouchi. The Ishtar case… he wasn't disturbed by the insanely high bounty. He was disturbed by the strange elements surrounding it. The pilot with weapons on display. The kidnapped young man with bone-white hair. Something wasn't adding up, and usually he didn't care, it usually was just work…

An electronic panel lit up and the car came to a halt. Jounouchi actually liked old-fashioned cars; the sound of their engines reminded him of the engines of the _Time Wizard_. If life had taken a different direction for him, he might've ended up an engineer.

"Guys, we're here!"

Both Otogi and Honda made a non-committal sound and grabbed their duffle bags. Stifling a yawn, they climbed out of the car.

"Oh man, we have to look lively when we meet the boss," Honda said and rubbed his eyes. Otogi flicked with one smooth movement his raven dark ponytail over his shoulder, smirking at his friend. "Fortunately, I always look lively."

"Yeah, yeah." Jounouchi retrieved his own duffle bag and walked towards the entrance. The height of the building gave him shivers, for some reason. He'd been here often enough and had nothing to fear; still, he quickly crossed the lobby while the others hurried after him.

Their shoes creaked on the spotless marble floor. The lobby was huge and a cleaning crew was busy picking up flyers and taking down huge banners and posters.

"Another career day, huh," Honda said as he walked past the busy workers. "Kaiba needs his fresh meat."

"As long as he's not thinking of replacing us," Otogi said sharply. Jounouchi pressed his thumb on an electronic pad to call for an elevator. His fingerprint was screened in a millisecond; the elevators were only accessible to employees. The doors went open soundlessly; the three men got in and Jounouchi said: "Kaiba's office."

"You have clearance, Jounouchi Katsuya," a mechanical voice answered and the next moment, the elevator shot up. Otogi groaned as his stomach tumbled around sickening. Honda didn't mock him for his obvious discomfort and instead whistled a non-descript tune. Otogi groaned louder. Fortunately for him, the elevator arrived at the right floor before his stomach could get any worse. Otogi all but jumped out of the elevator. Amused, Honda and Jounouchi followed him. Kaiba's office was at the end of the hallway and while they were approaching the huge doors, Jounouchi couldn't help but to look out the window and admire the view. It was a good thing he wasn't afraid of heights; the upper floors of the KaibaCorp. building were almost literally in the clouds.

Kaiba's secretary was Rebecca Hopkins, a woman with great power: she controlled Kaiba's schedule and arranged his appointments, and she knew exactly who he wanted to see or not. Her office was located before Kaiba's, at a respectable distance; despite her position and her power, she didn't walk into her boss' office just as easily. Whoever bothered Kaiba, and he perceived a lot of things as bothersome, could count on being fired immediately.

"Hey Rebecca," Jounouchi greeted her cheekily. She was quite a nice looking woman with long blond hair, and the glasses looked cute on her; if he hadn't been involved with Mai, he probably would've made a move on her.

"Jounouchi," her voice was as cold as her usual demeanor, "you're late, reporting in."

"I know," he answered, irritated. It was hard to escape Kaiba's control. "How's the boss?"

His team might have special clearance, but that didn't give them the power to overrule Kaiba's current meetings. She shook her head.

"He's free at the moment, you got seven minutes."

"That should be enough." Jounouchi whistled as he continued walking. Honda and Otogi followed suit, greeting Rebecca as well as they passed her, without receiving a greeting in return. In the barely two minutes it took them to arrive at Kaiba's office, Rebecca had already announced them - the huge door slid open, revealing the interior of the huge room, its size twice as big as Jounouchi's apartment.

"Jounouchi," Kaiba said from behind his desk. Jounouchi quickly scanned the room for Mokuba; Kaiba's younger brother always took the sting out of the conversation. He wasn't there. "You're late."

"I know." He was unable to keep the irritation out of his voice. Kaiba always scolded him, making him feel like a kid who just had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Jounouchi knew this was Kaiba's usual behavior and that he was treated like any other colleague; however, Jounouchi had the faint suspicion that Kaiba had a personal dislike for him. He didn't bother inquiring about it. "We left Wremmoor this morning at…"

"I know. I can see your tags, remember?"

"Yes sir," Jounouchi answered, forcing himself to stay calm.

"I allowed you your silly ship, but if it can't keep up…"

"I can assure you that the _Time Wizard _is operating functionally and completely," Jounouchi said, cutting the other short. He saw how Kaiba's eyes narrowed; the big boss didn't like it when he was interrupted.

"Fine. What's the news you've got for me, concerning Ishtar?"

Jounouchi took a deep breath and started to recite his report. He had send Kaiba an electronic copy of course, but for some reason Kaiba demanded to hear it in person. Maybe he based his own decisions on what he got to hear from his team leaders, Jounouchi wasn't sure. He kept talking, focusing on a point on the wall behind Kaiba, to avoid looking into his piercing blue eyes.

"So basically, you've got nothing." Kaiba laced his fingers together. He didn't even look at Jounouchi while he uttered his words, dripping with disdain.

"We need more time to investigate." Jounouchi had since long learned not to let his volatile temper flare in Kaiba's vicinity. No matter what he said, he always lost. "The abduction of that young person opened up another can of worms. Through this lead, we can learn where Ishtar gets his money from. He has to finance his endeavors somehow, and-"

"Mai had no more useful information?" Kaiba snorted. "And when you arrived on Wremmoor, the guy simply wasn't there. Why didn't you go in pursuit?"

"The _October _isn't a registered vessel," Jounouchi all but snarled. "It docks without tags, without being entered into the system. That-"

"Leaves only two other options: Ibistapola and Kraten Six."

"We couldn't make it to either planet from Wremmoor without re-supplying."

"Then re-supply," Kaiba made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Investigate that abduction. Maybe the family doesn't know he uses ransom money to get around, if that's really the case. I hate to not have my facts straight."

Otogi took a step forward, handing the printed pictures of the possible abduction victims to Kaiba. "These are the matches my network came up with."

He sat straighter in his chair, spreading the pictures in front of him, all over his desk.

"What's this?" He said, frowning as he tapped on the second picture from the right. Otogi took a quick look.

"Identified as Bakura Ryou," he said. "Like Jounouchi said, we still have to investigate…"

"He can't be abducted," Kaiba said and all but threw the picture on the floor. Otogi quickly picked it up. "Take him off of your list."

"But.. why? We have to verify…"

"This is a wild goose chase," Kaiba snarled. "It must be some kind of administrative error. Bakura Ryou is alive and well, and he's in my service for personal reasons."

"In your service for _personal_ reasons?" Jounouchi repeated.

"It's none of your business," Kaiba was quick to answer. "I don't owe you any explanation. It has nothing to do with current cases, and certainly not with the Ishtar case. Ignore his missing persons report and carry on."

* * *

"Well, that wasn't too bad," Honda said as soon as they were out of the office. He tried to break through the sullen atmosphere, and Jounouchi was grateful. He could always count on his friend to soothe the inevitable aggravations after talking to Kaiba. "At least we can cross off one person of our list."

"And he still wants the other three investigated." Otogi looked pensive, he was already thinking on how to get more information. "I think it's a good lead to look into."

"All right." Jounouchi waved at Rebecca in passing, but the secretary didn't deign to return the greeting. Otogi and Honda looked curiously at their team leader, awaiting his decision. "Take a few hours off, gentlemen. Get some rest, take a shower for crying out loud, and change clothes. I'll take care of the re-supplying and then we'll set out for Ibistapola."

"And you're going to do the same?" Honda quipped. "Taking a shower, I mean? I'm not sure how it'll improve your face."

"Shut up," Jounouchi stomped him against the shoulder, not too harshly. "I have to go to the HR department for some stuff and I'll meet you back at the _Time Wizard_."

"All right, see you later boss!" Otogi rubbed his hands, pleased with the unexpected, but very welcome time off. Honda nodded at Jounouchi before leaving with his colleague; Jounouchi took the other elevator.

KaibaCorp.'s Human Resources department took up at least three floors, but Jounouchi knew exactly where he had to be. Row after row of cubicles took up the work floor, and surprisingly enough, Kaiba allowed people to personalize their desks. Jounouchi had expected the department to be sterile, with people working in grey suits at clean, meticulously kept desks. From this distance, he could even see some potted plants - small ones - to bring some color and liveliness into the environment. Employees walked around, with files, laptops, mugs or other objects in their hands, talking to one another in hushed tones. A few women looked up when Jounouchi passed them, one asking him if he knew where he was going. He grinned at the stern woman with big glasses, telling her that he came to visit someone; his employee card effectively made her blush and mumble an apology.

Her cubicle was tucked away in the corner, next to the window. He was glad, even though her cubicle was smaller than everyone else's; he knew how much she enjoyed the view, and how that view was more important to her than the size of her desk. She was present, he could see the top of her red-haired head as she was just whipping her hair around, tilting her head for a cute, kind smile. A colleague was standing next to her, showing her something in a file. Jounouchi approached the cubicle, and a surge of happiness went through him when he saw her brown eyes flicker towards him. She didn't recognize him, of course. She dealt with so many employees that she couldn't be expected to recognize them all immediately. Her eyes darted to his employee card, clipped to the collar of his jacket, and her smile was just as kind to him as to anyone else. It turned a little bit warmer when she finally realized who he was; Jounouchi always made sure to look her up once in a while with a simple question.

"Hello, Shizuka," he said.

"Hello, Jounouchi," she answered. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Oh, I was just wondering about my bonus," Jounouchi grinned even though he darn well knew that bonuses were only rewarded after a case was closed successfully. Shizuka's smile was still there, she probably thought he was a little bit goofy, but harmless. The colleague excused himself but Jounouchi had already dismissed the other from his mind, as he leaned over a wall of the cubicle. He'd already noticed that she was looking in good health, and that her eyes were open and vibrant. Shizuka Kawaii didn't know she was his sister. She didn't know that the money for her extensive eye surgery had come from his account. She also didn't know that he had pushed and used some leverage to get her this job. Jounouchi liked to keep it this way; he could check up on her casually like this, and she was safe, in plain sight of the 'enemy'. If Kaiba knew Shizuka was Jounouchi's sister, he would hold her against him, and use her to his advantage - the kind of advantage that made people kill for.

"I'd love to help you, Jounouchi, but I'm in the middle of helping someone else," Shizuka said. "If you want to put in a formal request…"

"Someone else?" Jounouchi looked around exaggeratedly. "I don't see anyone else."

She laughed politely, mirth shining in her eyes. "He offered to get me some tea."

"I didn't know you were so happy to take a bribe," he winked at her. She blushed, embarrassment showing. She was as honest as a newborn, and just the thought of taking a bribe made her all flustered. "Just kidding," Jounouchi added.

"Jounouchi, you shouldn't make such jokes," she said, hiding her flushed cheeks behind her long hair. She moved her slender fingers over the desk as if she was searching for something, but he knew she was only trying to distract herself. She was probably wondering why he searched her out and made such horrible jokes; he knew their mother had never mentioned his existence.

"Excuse me, Miss Kawaii," a soft, polite voice flowed past Jounouchi's ear. He would hardly have noticed, but his sharp eyes recognized Bakura Ryou immediately from his picture. The young man put a cup of tea on the desk, the steaming hot liquid giving off an exotic blend. He had also brought tea along for himself and he only noticed Jounouchi's presence when he looked up.

"Ah! I'm sorry! If I knew Miss Kawaii had a visitor, I would've brought…"

"It's all right, I just popped up to ask something," Jounouchi showed a goofy, disarming grin. "Jounouchi Katsuya. I'm on one of the special teams of KaibaCorp.. And you are?"

"Bakura Ryou," the other answered, chocolate brown eyes impossibly innocent and trusting. "I'm.. sort of an advisor."

Jounouchi couldn't help it; he arched an eyebrow. This… kid was in Kaiba's service as… well, as Kaiba had said it himself: a _personal _advisor. What the hell did he need him for? He was the one with the penchant for Earth studies, right?

"I'm sorry, Jounouchi," Shizuka said, "I have to finish up some paperwork. Drop by any other time?"

"Sure, of course." Jounouchi kept his grin firmly in place. He knew by now how to do that, without any faltering. He brought up his hand to his head, as if he was going to tip his hat if he'd been wearing one. "Bakura, Miss Kawaii."

He left the department without looking back.

* * *

"Yuugi… the food won't hurt you."

"Hmmm?"

"The food won't hurt you." Yuugi's grandfather looked with a mixture of amusement and fear at him. Sugoroku wasn't used to seeing his grandson poking at his food; Yuugi knew not to waste it. Their budget was tight enough as it was, they couldn't afford to be slack with food. Not that either one of them was a good cook. Sometimes Anzu made dinner to share between the three of them, but tonight she was at her own home, with her parents.

"Oh, I'm sorry, jii-chan." Yuugi put down his fork and stared at his plate with unrecognizable ingredients. It had to be mashed potatoes with a little bit of vegetables and a small sausage, but it looked like… the engines of a spaceship had fried it and then dumped it out of an airlock. Yuugi shivered lightly. He'd been thinking of spaceships a lot lately.

"Well, I'm sure it's beyond tasteless now," the elderly man said dryly. "You better throw it out and make yourself a sandwich or something. I won't let my grandson go hungry to bed."

"It's my fault," Yuugi said. "I'll eat it, don't worry." He had to give up after a few bites, simply because his stomach wouldn't allow him to eat more.

"Then tell me what's going on. You're only mashing your food when something's bothering you, Yuugi. No, no don't deny it, I've known you longer than today, so don't give me those 'I don't know what you're talking about' eyes. They don't suit you, Yuugi."

"Sorry, jii-chan."

"And stop apologizing," Sugoroku muttered. "What is it, do you think I'm made out of spun glass? Spit it out."

"You know I've visited Atemu-kun on his ship," Yuugi said.

"The _Datura_," his grandfather nodded. "Beautiful name for a ship. Yes, go on?"

"I…he asked me to leave with him."

"What?"

"Not like that," Yuugi hurried to add. "He just wants to do something in return for the help and hospitality we've given him, he says. Just a few days, jii-chan? I know it's hard to keep the shop open on your own…"

"It's not like we're being overrun with costumers, Yuugi." He grumbled. "And it's not like I can't handle myself for a few days. It's just that…"

He didn't know what to say. Yuugi looked at him expectantly, but the older man simply couldn't find the words. "It's too big of a gift," he finally said. "It's not proportionate. We gave him something to drink, offered him food which he declined by the way, and we offered him a place to stay, which he also declined. I don't see why he should… look Yuugi, it's not that I don't want you to go. It would be good for you to see some other places than your home planet. If you really want to go, you have my blessing."

"But..?"

"But I think Atemu-kun isn't the right kind of company for you." Sugoroku felt the weight of over seventy years of life experience heavily on his shoulders. He was very young when Earth had been destroyed, and he knew he was clinging to old traditions and customs, such as teaching Yuugi the honorifics of his maternal language, now replaced by a universal language. When Yuugi had been born, he vowed that nothing would happen to his grandson… and his promises had turned to ash. Voided by death. "Maybe I'm too careful," he continued. "I _know_ I've been too protective. I tried to raise you to the best of my abilities."

"Jii-chan?" Yuugi asked confusedly, not used to his grandfather's all too serious tone of voice.

"Your kindness is your strength and weakness," Sugoroku said. "I taught you to see the good in people, the kind heart in people. But there will always be people around, out there, who'll try to abuse that kindness."

"Jii-chan, Atemu-kun isn't that kind of person," Yuugi said, almost in shock. "Is that what you really think of him? He invited me aboard of his ship, and nothing happened. He showed me around and honestly wanted to do something in return for our help."

"You don't know him that well." He sought out Yuugi's face, meeting his eyes, returning his gaze. "You know him for a few days, Yuugi. He's not your friend. Anzu's your friend. I'm your friend, and your grandfather to boot. I've seen people coming and going, and someone emerging from the shadows, who doesn't know his name at first and walks around with a pure, silver _cartouche _around his neck, isn't your friend."

"Why not? He has done nothing to harm me or you!"

"Just take your grandfather's word for it. Something about him doesn't sit well with me. And if I'm correct, your fiancée isn't all too smitten with him either."

"I know," Yuugi said, deflated. "Or at least, I think so. I'm sure she doesn't want me to go on a trip with him."

"Maybe it's for the best if you just let him go." Sugoroku didn't like the sullen look on Yuugi's face, but there was nothing he could do about it. Not now. "We can always save up to make a commercial space trip. You've never been outside of Vertregg 12, and you've never been on holiday."

"Jii-chan, the shop…"

"We'll think of something. You work hard, and you take care of everything and everyone. You deserve it."

Yuugi didn't answer, but showed his grandfather a watery smile. Somehow it felt like he'd been dealt a blow to the face, and he remained sullen for the rest of the evening.


End file.
